Conduit's Rebirth
by pop82
Summary: When Delsin wakes up in a new world, very different from his own, he is terrified. But with help from some new friends, and maybe even a few old ones, he'll make a new life for himself. And even if this isn't his world, there are plenty of secrets for him to uncover here as well. Good Delsin.
1. Chapter 1

**Conduit's Rebirth**

 **Hi. Pop82 here. This is going to be a first for me, as previously I wrote nothing but Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics. To those of you who had the misfortune of reading those pieces of garbage I apologize and neither of them exists anymore. However, I would like to recommend you check out a collaborative fic I'm writing with PackLord4415 on here called Hidden in Stardust if Yu-Gi-Oh is more your speed.**

 **Anyway, this is going to be a crossover Fanfic of Infamous: Second Son, and RWBY. The timeline is about one month after the Hero ending of Second Son, and a little before the start of Volume 1 of RWBY.**

 **I would also like to note that this story will feature an OC of mine that will eventually be appearing in a new series that I will be starting once I actually make myself start writing it. You will be able to tell him right away I'm sure.**

 **Additionally, I may take a RWBY liberty here or there, so please suspend your disbelief just a little. Beyond that please, do not forget to review, as all _constructive_ criticisms are welcomed. Also if you find a typo, please tell me because the doc uploader here has a bad habit of screwing up everything in any given chapter. **

**Finally, I make no claim of ownership to any properties mentioned above except my OC, and series which this crossover uses all belong to their respective owners.**

 **Now without further ado, enjoy.**

 **0**

 **Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

 **0**

After healing his fellow Akomish, and leaving a memorial for his brother, Delsin Rowe couldn't bring himself to stay in Salmon Bay with his tribe. He knew that even after his victory over Augustine, his work was far from done. So instead he stayed in Seattle, continuing his hero work, and keeping the newly freed Conduits there in line. He had gained a reputation in Seattle as a stand-up guy, and due to his work in not only keeping the Conduits in line but keeping the regular crime very low, he managed to keep the military and any DUP remnants far away.

He had indulged himself a little, absorbing one new power of course. He expanded his repertoire to include not only Smoke, Neon, Video, and Concrete, but also Water. If he'd had his way, he would have absorbed more, but there were no more Core Relays in the city, so he was stuck with what he had.

One evening, he was watching over Seattle from his favorite spot: the top of the Space Needle. It was a beautiful day that morning, just on the last wisps of autumn with winter on the way. He smiled at his city, his hand gripping his brother's police badge, the only recoverable remnant of his big brother. From his perch, he saw Fetch's light trail speeding down the street. He smiled.

A little later his phone rang. He sighed and answered.

"Hello, your friendly neighborhood Conduit speaking?" he said.

"Hey Delsin, it's Eugene."

"Eugene? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Very funny. Just calling to let you know that we got everything settled down for the night."

"So the city'll still be in one piece tomorrow? Good."

"No promises. See you in the morning."

"K. Tell Anna I said hi!"

"...Ok," Eugene said quietly as he hung up.

Delsin smiled to himself. It had taken some doing, but he had managed to get Eugene some confidence and self-esteem. And with that plus his new hero status in hand, he managed to get a girlfriend.

One who kept Eugene up late most nights.

Delsin put his phone away and flexed his Concrete power, jumping off of the space needle and heading to his apartment just on the edge of the Lantern District. He let himself freefall for a bit, but then he activated his concrete thrusters, catching himself and gliding away. He landed just in front of his building and, just for practice at this point, climbed up to his balcony.

He opened the sliding door, walked right to his couch-bed and plopped down onto it, waiting for sleep to come.

 **0**

Delsin could have sworn he had just fallen asleep, before starlight broke through his eyes, rousing him. Still groggy, he sat up, putting one hand behind him to steady himself, and using the other to rub the fatigue out of his eyes. After about fifteen seconds he opened his eyes … and nearly stopped breathing.

He immediately discovered he was no longer in his apartment. He was now in a forest of red trees. Not like fall colors, but actual scarlet-leaved trees.

"Since when did Seattle have trees like these?" he said, thinking aloud.

He started walking, taking in the sights.

"Hell, since when did _Earth_ have trees like this? And why is it so warm out?"

He kept walking. After about 10 minutes he realized he was walking in circles.

"Ok! Where the hell am I?! Can anybody hear me?"

Nothing but the wind in the trees answered him. He sighed, thinking he had had just about enough of this. He pulled up his left sleeve to reveal a small collection of 4 tubes and a Fitbit. It was a manual Power Switcher Eugene had come up with. Each tube held enough material for each of his powers that he could easily switch between them, so long as he remembered to fill them after he did.

He absorbed energy from the neon tube, switching to it, and with his Light Dash, ran up the tallest tree he could find. At the top, the young man surveyed his surroundings. On all sides of him were nothing but trees. But, in the abnormally bright moonlight, in the distance, he could see something that at least _looked_ like a city. There were lights shining, and a _huge_ tower was looming over it.

"Well. That's a start," he said aloud.

He jumped down and started to Light Dash again, running as fast as he could. He had to stop a few times. Even if he could use the power indefinitely, he still could run out of stamina. Even so, he managed to get there in about an hour and a half.

He arrived at the city's outer wall. He was amazed by the border defenses he saw.

"Damn. I don't think the D.U.P. has this level of firepower."

He went back to his Switcher and filled the Neon tube, and moved his hand to the Fitbit, switching to his Video power. He walked along the wall until he found what appeared to be an entry gate manned by a small guard posting. Smirking, he used his Video power to cloak himself and walked right past the gate.

Normally he would have actually stopped and requested entry, but as a Conduit, he still didn't trust men with guns. After he was past the guards, he de-cloaked he kept walking. He wanted to find out where he was, but it was late, and there were almost no stores open or people on the streets. It was a good half hour before he found a store that had lights on.

"'From Dust Till Dawn'? What kinda name is tha-"

He was cut off as two things broke through the front window of the store. The first was a man with some kind of weird-ass gun looking thing. The other one was what got his attention. A little red-haired girl, no more than 15 and dressed in a Little Red Riding-Hood costume, _rode_ him out of the window, carrying a massive gun on her shoulder. Which then transformed into a scythe.

"What. The. Fuck," Delsin said, his jaw on the ground.

This tiny girl then proceeded to swing said scythe around as if it weighed nothing. Delsin was amazed. He heard some indistinct chatter from inside the store, and three more men ran out, red swords in hand.

The first tried to rush in and slash at her, but she jumped up and spun on her scythe's handle kicking him in the face. After that Delsin snapped out of his daze and switched over to his Concrete power. Recognizing that the girl was in trouble, he Boulder Dashed into the second guy as he was sneaking up behind the girl.

Not missing a beat, the girl immediately started using her scythe's gun to propel herself out of the line of fire, while Delsin threw some Concrete Shrapnel at the guy firing. The man managed to evade, just as the girl sped right past Delsin and knocked the man into the air. Using her scythe to shift her momentum, she spun around, ripping it back out of the ground and smashing it right into the face of the man who was still in the air, sending him crashing to the ground.

Unnoticed, another man had emerged from the store. He was about 6'3" and he was dressed as the ultimate douche-bag. He was wearing a red single-stripe bowler hat with a feather, a white trench coat, a gray ascot, all while walking with a cane he obviously didn't need and smoking a cigar. His red hair swept over half of his face, but with his uncovered eye, he looked down at one of his men in apathy.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were," he said before looking up at his opponents.

"Well, Red, Rocky, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," he continued squashing his dropped cigar with the end of his useless cane, "But as much as I'd love to stick around-"

He raised his cane and pointed it at the pair.

"-This is where we part ways."

Delsin was confused as a small hatch opened at the tip of the cane. Then, to Delsin's continuing dismay, he fired the cane/gun and a burning red projectile fired at them both. In the instant before it hit them Delsin summoned a concrete wall for protection, having spent time practicing for things just like this.

While the resulting blast did destroy the wall, the two of them were perfectly fine. As they looked around they saw the man climbing up on a ladder, trying to run away. The two of them turned to the shopkeeper, who was stumbling out of the store.

"You ok if we go after him?" she asked him.

The shopkeeper nodded.

She turned and looked at Delsin, motioning for him to follow.

He nodded.

In a burst of rose petals and concrete, the pair catapulted themselves onto the roof of the building.

"Hey!" the girl shouted.

Delsin threw a diagonal barrage of Concrete Shrapnel at the bowler hat guy, but he turned and smashed through all of them, dinging up his cane quite a bit.

"Persistent," he barely whispered.

At that moment, a large plane/bus/whatchamacallit rose behind him. A cargo hatch opened on its side, and a searchlight flared and blinded them both temporarily. When they could see again the man was standing in the opened cargo bay facing them.

"End of the line, you two!" he shouted.

He pulled out a red crystal and threw it between the two on the roof. Then he pointed his cane/gun at it and fired. As his bullet collided with the crystal, both objects exploded, but not before a woman jumped in front of the Delsin and the scythe-wielder. With a flick of her wrist (and a riding crop for some reason) the woman nullified the blast with some sort of cool looking magic circle.

After the smoke cleared he managed to get a better look at her. She had blonde hair, bright green eyes and wore glasses. Her outfit was a little weird though, a white close-collared blouse with a very flattering cleavage window, a black skirt that formed a gentle _V_ around her waist, and a cape, black on one side, deep purple on the other, with metal diamonds across the middle. All together it made him think of a Hollywood witch.

Flicking her crop in a wide arc this time, she sent a flurry of purple projectiles flying straight towards the flying vehicle. As the vehicle was shaking from the onslaught, the red-haired man went up to the pilot seat and another woman returned in his place. Witch lady flicked her crop a third time, and a storm cloud appeared over the immediate area, raining shards of ice onto the vehicle.

The two women engaged in a fierce fight after that, with fireballs and concrete shards flying. After a while, the vehicle started to turn away, and with the young red-head getting desperate, she shifted her scythe back into a gun and opened fire. Delsin joined her and sent his Concrete Barrage after her, but with a single gesture, the escaping woman blasted all of the attacks away as they flew off.

Delsin looked back to see the red head giving puppy-dog eyes to the blonde. After a moment, he slipped out of combat mode and his confusion and disorientation returned. His head started to spin from everything he had just seen, and in his daze he found himself in a police interrogation room, sitting at a table with a bright white light directly overhead.

He sat there for a few minutes, still a little light-headed when the door opened, and a man walked in. Before he even looked at the man, Delsin fell back onto his old defense.

"I want a lawyer." he said to the man.

The man who had entered just smirked.

"Well, you aren't under arrest and no one is pressing charges, but if you still wish to exercise your right to an attorney, you may."

Delsin looked up at the man.

He was easily six and a half feet tall with silver hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black three-piece suit with a green shirt and cowl scarf.

"Nice to meet you. You may call me Professor Ozpin."

"No charges? Ok, then can you tell me how to get to Seattle from here so I can get home? I got work to do," Delsin asked.

"Seattle? I'm afraid I don't know that village," Ozpin replied.

"Village? Seattle's not a 'village' it's a city up in Washington."

"Washington?"

"The state? You know, in America?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you are referring to."

Delsin looked confused. Then he thought back to a conversation he and Eugene had a while back about his video power and entering the digital world. Something about how even though the digital worlds he entered were fake, there were infinite amounts of other worlds that he could travel to. Delsin had dismissed it as bunk, but apparently, he was wrong.

His head fell to his hands.

"Dammit," he said, uncovering his mouth.

Ozpin looked down at him through the glasses he wore.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"I said dammit!" Delsin shouted, accidentally breaking the table with his Concrete power.

Ozpin just continued to stand there, stoic.

"Young man, there is no cause for violence," Ozpin said, trying to calm him.

Delsin just rose and switched to his Smoke power.

"Fine. Sorry for the table. I'm going," he said.

Before Ozpin could respond, Delsin smoke dashed into the air vent behind him and rode it all the way to the building's roof. Angrily, he switched over to his Neon power and Light Dashed away, running as fast as he could.

While he was running, he ran past a group of thugs beating up on a young girl in an alley.

He was going to run past them, but before he could, he sighed to himself and turned around. Still with his Neon, he unfurled his chain and smashed the first guy in the chest with it. Then with his free hand, he shot a neon bolt into the second's leg while he carried through with his swing, knocking out the third with his chain.

The last two started to run away, but he chucked a Stasis Bubble at them, stopping them cold. Just for good measure, he shot both of them in the leg and subdued them all in a light cocoon. The girl thanked him and he Dashed off to the rooftop before the cops could catch up with him.

He started to run again when he found himself face to face with the same scythe-wielding girl from earlier.

"Sup," he said.

"Yo," she replied.

The two just sat there staring at each other for a while, neither one with any idea of what to say.

Eventually, the girl spoke up.

"Sooooo, nice moves back there," she said nervously.

"Thanks. Wait, how did you follow me? No one's ever caught up to me that fast," he asked in reply.

"Oh, that's my semblance. I can move really fast," she said, gaining some conversational momentum.

"Your what?" Delsin asked, confused again.

The girl just started to giggle at him.

"I'm not from around here, ok?" he yelled defensively.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just a little funny is all," she said, still giggling.

"Ah, the hell with this, I gotta find a way home!"

He Light Dashed away again, leaving the girl alone on the rooftop.

"Wait! Professor Ozpin wanted to talk to you!" she said as he sped away.

 _"Way to go Ruby, he ran away. Ah well, better chase him again,"_ she thought.

In a burst of rose petals, she sped off after him, his Neon power leaving a light trail for her to follow.

They raced throughout the city, twisting and turning around corners. However, while Ruby may not have been faster than him, she did know the city better, and she had had her speed for much longer. She had taken a shortcut and was about to try and tackle him to the ground when she found he had stopped by an electronics store. There were several TV's in the window, all with different news broadcasts on display.

"How do you do that! I've never seen anyone with more than one Semblance!" she asked, walking up to him, more than a little tired.

He didn't hear her. He just kept staring at the TV screens, watch news stories about events he had never heard of.

Ruby started to get the feeling that something was bothering Delsin. After a few minutes, he slid down the wall, turning his back to it.

"Dammit," he said softly, to no one in particular.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

Delsin looked up to the sky.

"I can't go home," he told her.

"Why not?" she asked in reply.

"It's too far away."

"What do you mean? You're really fast, I'm sure you could make it there in no time."

"It's … It's not that kind of distance."

Ruby seemed a little confused. But, like her father taught her, she pressed on.

"Well whatever kind of distance it is, I'm sure you'll get back eventually," she said smiling.

Delsin half-smiled and stood, holding out his hand. Ruby took it, and they shook hands.

"Delsin Rowe, nice to meet you."

"Ruby Rose. Same."

"So, Ruby, why were you following me?"

Ruby looked at him questioningly before she remembered.

"Oh right! Professor Ozpin wanted to talk to you, so he asked me to chase you down."

"Great. Smug jerk-face wants to talk. Race you back?" he asked.

"Can we walk? I'm not used to running through the whole city."

Delsin laughed.

"Sure. I need to learn about here anyway."

"Ok, where should I start?"

"Just assume I know absolutely nothing about the entire world and start from there."

"Um … Alright."

 **0**

"Soo... Remnant?" he asked, gesturing to his surroundings.

"Mm-hm," she replied.

"Vale?" he continued, pointing down.

"Yep," she said, making a popping sound at the end of the word.

"Grimm?" he questioned, making claws with his fingers.

"Heh, yeah."

He pointed to his heart.

"Aura?"

"Uh-huh."

He made a motion of running.

"Semblance."

"Sort of," she answered, shaking her hand in a maybe.

"Huntress?" he asked, pointing to her weapon.

"In training."

"And …. Beacon Academy," he said, pointing to the tower in the distance. Coincidentally the same tower he saw when he ran into the city.

"Yeah."

"Wow."

While they walked, Ruby explained most of what Delsin needed to know along the way. The Ozpin guy he was going to see was back at Beacon, but he had arranged transport for him at the Airship station to take him there.

When they reached the station, Ruby left to go pack her stuff, as Ozpin was apparently letting her attend Beacon 2 years early. Delsin went on in through the station and jumped on his transport.

As he climbed on, he noticed he was not the only one on the transport. The other passenger was a young woman.

She was wearing a brown and gold jacket with brown short shorts all lined with gold.

However, that was not what got his attention. What got his attention, was the fact that she had _rabbit ears_ on her head.

 _"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say_ that's _what a Faunus looks like,"_ he thought.

As he sat down the girl looked at him quizzically, like she had seen him before. Then her face lit up.

"You!" she exclaimed, with what Delsin knew as an Australian accent.

"Huh?" he asked, confused again.

"You're the one! The one who saved me!"

"I'm sorry, I do-" he stopped himself as he flashed back to the alley. The thugs, and the girl they were beating.

"Oh! Now I remember," he said, "Fancy meeting you here."

"Yeah, are you a student at Beacon?"

"Nope, just visiting."

"Well, since you ran off so quickly, I never got a chance to say thank you. So, thank you."

"No problem," Delsin said with his typical smile, "Names' Delsin, nice to meet you."

He held out his hand.

"Velvet Scarlatina," she said, though she seemed nervous to shake his hand, extending hers very cautiously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, confused by her hesitance.

"Oh, it's just that, most Humans aren't nice to Faunus like me."

"What? Why? I mean, look at those ears! They're adorable!"

Velvet turned beet red.

"T-t-thank y-you, but still, why are you being so nice?"

Delsin leaned back in his seat.

"You could say I know a thing or two about being treated differently because of who I am."

The rest of their trip, the two enjoyed a pleasant conversation, just having fun getting to know one another, even if Delsin did have to edit his backstory a bit. When they landed Velvet left him to go off to the dorms, while Delsin walked around, trying to find his way to Ozpin's office.

"Man, is there like, a directory or something around here?" he asked aloud.

"Mm-HM!" a voice coughed behind him.

He turned around to see the same lady in a witch costume that he had seen earlier standing behind him.

"Oh. Hey there," he said, throwing on his usual smirk.

"Professor Ozpin is waiting for you in his office. Please follow me," she said flatly.

"Ok."

She led him inside to an elevator, which took them to the top floor. When they arrived the woman motioned for him to enter while she stayed behind.

Delsin found himself in a strange looking room, decorated like the inside of a clock, gears everywhere, and clock numbers om the floor. Ozpin was in front of him, sitting behind a very large desk.

"Mr. Rowe. Please, have a seat," Ozpin said.

"Nice place you got here Ozzy," Delsin replied.

"Thank you," Ozpin said, a small smile on his face.

"Wait, how do you know my name? I never told you."

Ozpin's smile grew, and he placed a small object on the table: Delsin's wallet.

"You passed out after the fight on top of that building, so we searched you for identification. You left before I could give it back."

"Hm," he said, picking up his wallet, "Ok you wanted to talk. I'm here."

"Good. First, I should ask, why did you run away?"

"Well Oz, I should probably say, I'm not from here," Delsin started.

"I gathered that much."

"No, not from Vale. From Remnant."

Ozpin stayed silent for a moment.

"Go on."

And so, Delsin told his story. Growing up on a Native American reservation, his delinquency, discovering his Conduit abilities, fighting the DUP, Augustine, all of it. During his tale, Ozpin looked at him unflinchingly. Even the worst parts of the story didn't make him so much as twitch.

When the story was done, Ozpin took one last sip from his mug and set it down on the desk in front of him.

"I must say Mr. Rowe, your story is a little hard to believe. And no Grimm? That is a little hard to imagine."

"It's the truth. I can even show you my Conduit powers if you want."

"No need. I said it was hard to believe, not unbelievable. I am willing to trust that you are telling the truth, and given that you don't have an Aura, I am inclined to believe you anyway. So I now need to ask, what do you plan to do now that you are here?"

Delsin leaned back in his chair, thinking.

"Well, eventually I'd like to go home. But back in Seattle, I was a hero. I guess, I just wanna help people till I can go home."

Ozpin smiled again.

"Well as it happens I run a school designed to teach students to do just that. If you do mean to help, might I suggest you do so as a Huntsman?"

"Uh, well Oz, I'm 24 years old. I'm a little too old to go back to school."

"Nonsense. There is no age limit for my school. Some of my advanced students are older than you are. So, how about it?"

Delsin just sighed.

"Fine," he said.

"Very well," Ozpin replied.

He pulled out a small box and placed it on the table.

"This is a welcome package I had put together for you. In it, you will find a small monetary allowance, basic toiletries, your Scroll, a sort of cell phone I believe you called it complete with a campus map so you don't get lost, and your school uniform."

"Wait, uniform?"

"Yes, Mr. Rowe. A uniform, which I will expect you to wear at all times during classes."

"Ugh..." Delsin groaned. He turned to leave, and pulled out his new Scroll to find his room.

"And Mr. Rowe?"

Delsin turned to see Ozpin smiling again.

"Welcome to Beacon."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this story, also be on the look out for my other story "The Hammer that Forges Steel" a Pokémon/RWBY crossover. Don't forget to Review please, it really helps.**


	2. Chapter 2

**0**

 **Chapter 2: Let's Get Started**

 **0**

Delsin woke up at about 7:00 the next morning. It had become his habit to wake up early back home, as that was usually when the trouble started. He got dressed and just started exploring, not sure where to go, but finding that there were about 10 hours before he was supposed to be in the amphitheater.

He wandered over to the Airship station, hoping to see his only Remnant friends when they arrived. He sat waiting for a while until the Airships came into view and started to land. Once people started to get off, he looked around, trying to find them, with no luck.

It wasn't until after the crowd had started to thin down that he saw someone he knew. Ruby had just fallen into some prissy girl's luggage and was currently being chewed out by said girl. Delsin raced over with his Light Dash.

"Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?!" the girl said.

"Hey, she said she was sorry! Back off!" Delsin yelled back.

Ruby got up and looked at him.

"Delsin!" she said with a smile, the raging anger storm behind her all but forgotten.

"Excuse me?! Do you have any idea who you are talking to?!" the girl yelled.

Delsin stepped in front of Ruby.

"Yeah, the stuck-up girl who's about to get a Phosphor Beam to the face if she doesn't step the fuck off my friend," he said back, his hand glowing with his Neon power.

"Is that a threat?"

Right as she finished her question, the purple-blue beam flew past her head, barely missing her left ear. She was shocked, realizing that he was serious.

"Look princess. I try to be a peacekeeper. You apologize for yelling at my friend here, and we will be all good. You try any more of this nonsense, we will have problems. What's it gonna be?" he asked, a small amount of menace creeping into his voice.

The girl, a petite young woman wearing a rather short white dress, with stark white hair and icy blue eyes, had all of her anger drain from her face.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," she said as she turned around, and walked away.

"Mm, good enough," Delsin said with a shrug.

Ruby just stared at him in stunned silence.

"What? I wasn't actually gonna hurt her or anything. You guys have that aura stuff to protect you right?" Delsin asked when he saw the look on her face.

"You could've fooled me..." she said meekly.

"Well, I wasn't."

He turned around to see another girl had walked up behind them. This one was wearing a black, single-button vest with a sleeveless white high-collared undershirt under it, white shorts, and black stockings. All of this combined with her black hair, amber eyes, and the adorable black bow she wore on her head, made her look exceptionally mysterious.

"Nice job dethroning the heiress," she said.

"Who, that girl? All she needed was a reminder that she's not as important as she thinks she is."

The black haired girl laughed.

"You don't know who that was do you?" she asked.

"Not a clue, no."

"That was Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the biggest distributor of Dust in the world."

Delsin had read something about that. His Scroll had come with a bunch of Remnant information, and he read through a lot of it before he went to bed last night. Apparently, it just hadn't sunk in.

"Huh. Explains why she needed to be knocked down a peg."

The girl, however, had already walked off, leaving him any Ruby standing there. He was about to say something when his scroll buzzed. It was a message from Ozpin, reminding him to get to the amphitheater quickly.

"Sorry, Ruby, I gotta go. Amphitheater's that way, bye," he said hurriedly, as he Light Dashed away.

 **0**

He ran all the way there, just in time to hear the worst motivational speech in history. He saw some people he knew come in, Ruby coming in with some scraggly blonde kid, whom he would later know as Jaune, but quickly went over to some blonde girl with purple eyes and well developed … assets.

On the stage, a woman stepped up, the same one from the rooftop battle and the elevator. The woman, whom he now knew as Glynda Goodwitch, told them to head to the ballroom, and that initiation would be tomorrow, leaving Delsin to wonder what "initiation" might be.

After they left, Delsin went and got a shower. When he got out, he went to the ballroom and saw Ruby, laying on a sleeping bag next to the girl he saw her with earlier.

"Sup Ruby!" he called, waving.

Ruby looked around and saw him.

"Delsin! Hey!" she called back, returning the wave.

Delsin walked over, wearing a borrowed pair Beacon sweatpants and a white t-shirt, feeling a little weird not wearing his beanie. The golden haired girl turned over to face him and made a seductive sound.

"Ruby, who's your friend?" she asked.

Delsin smiled in his typical fashion and held out his hand.

"Delsin Rowe."

Ruby threw a pillow at the girl.

"Delsin that's my older sister, Yang Xiao Long. Yang, this is my friend Delsin, the one I told you about," she said, a little angry.

Yang removed the pillow from her face and smiled.

"Relax Ruby, I was just kidding," she told her sister before turning back to Delsin, "It's nice to meet you Delsin."

"You too Yang. See you guys in the morning."

Delsin walked past them and saw the Snow Princess from earlier still awake on her sleeping bag. Feeling a little guilty he cleared his throat as he walked by. She turned to look at him. As she saw his face a startled look appeared on hers.

Delsin threw up his hands in a surrender.

"Hey, I'm not here to fight. Just hear me out, ok?" he said.

The girl sat up, still wary.

"Go on," she told him.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize. When you were yelling at my friend I admit, I could have handled that better than threatening to shoot you. Anyway, how about we both agree to not let our emotions get the better of us next time. Agreed?"

Weiss looked back at him with a mixed expression, one part mild surprise, and one part grudging agreement.

"Agreed. Weiss Schnee," she said, holding out her hand.

Delsin shook it.

"Delsin Rowe. Good night Weiss."

"Good night Delsin."

Delsin walked away. The diplomacy stuff was not really his first choice, but in the month since his so-called "Second Age" of Conduit/Human coexistence began, he'd had to learn. He'd gotten pretty good at it too.

Walking by, he saw the black-haired girl from earlier, the one who'd told him about Weiss in the first place. She was sitting in a chair reading a book. Figuring it would be a good idea to get more diplomacy practice, he walked over.

"Hey. You're that girl from earlier right?" he asked.

The amber eyed girl peeked over the top of her book.

"Oh. Aren't you that guy who told off the Schnee girl?" she asked in return.

"Yeah," he replied, scratching the back of his neck, "That would be me."

"Well done."

"Uh... Thank you. Delsin Rowe," he said, extending his hand.

The girl put her head down into her book.

"Blake," she said, not looking at him.

Delsin got the hint. This girl obviously didn't want to talk.

"Well, goodnight Blake."

"Goodnight Delsin.

After that brief exchange Delsin walked past everyone else to his small sleeping bag in the corner of the ballroom and closed his eyes, falling asleep. He hoped against hope that maybe he'd wake up at home again.

 **0**

He woke up the next morning, unhappily finding himself still on his sleeping bag. Groggily, he got up and got changed. The whole rest of the morning passed in a blur. But eventually he slowed down.

While the other students were getting their gear ready in the locker room, Delsin had other plans. Since he had no gear to prepare, he decided to explore, maybe find a spot or two for some of his "art projects."

He made his way out to the courtyard, trying to get a big picture view of the campus. He had picked out several spots on the ground and was about to go on aerial recon when a voice called out from behind him.

"Hey!" the voice called.

Delsin turned to face it. He saw a young man, maybe 17, with white hair and gray eyes, probably about 6 foot nothing. He was wearing a solid royal blue t-shirt and grey jeans.

"You're a first year right?" the young man asked.

"Yeah," Delsin answered warily.

"Well then come on! Initiation is in like, 5 minutes!" the young man replied, running off.

Delsin checked the time on his Scroll, and saw that he was right. He switched to his Neon power and sped off. He bolted past the young man who had warned him, but noticed that the same young man was managing to keep up. He also noticed that the young man's hair color had changed from stark white to lightning-bolt yellow.

After four and a half minutes of running, they reached the cliffside, just in time to see a somewhat annoyed Ozpin, as well as a rather angry Professor Goodwitch.

"Mr. Rowe, Mr. Roman, so nice of you to join us. If you would please stand on one of those platforms while I explain the terms of this exercise again?" Ozpin asked, sounding frustrated.

The both of them laughed nervously as they stepped forward onto the metal platforms in front of them. Ozpin spent the next few minutes going over the objective. Basically, all they had to do was go get a relic from a temple while traversing a monster infested forest. Simple enough.

That is, until Glynda took the floor.

"I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today," she said.

Delsin saw that Ruby looked a little put off by this, though his fellow students didn't seem to care at all.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," Ozpin continued, "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Ruby seemed distraught by this announcement, but the way she displayed it was something Delsin found hilarious. Though Delsin himself was a little nervous about being on a team. He wasn't sure how someone would react to his past if they found out.

Ozpin continued on in what Delsin guessed was a trademarked deadpan. Delsin tuned out most of it, focusing on the task at hand. Eventually, he heard the sound of springs being released, accompanied by some excited cheers. Delsin looked up and saw several students had been launched off of the cliff. Just after he noticed though, it was his turn to be thrown into the air.

 **0**

As the last of the students went flying, Glynda looked at Ozpin.

"Are you sure it was a good idea, recruiting that boy?" she asked.

Ozpin smiled and took a sip from his mug. Contrary to what most thought, he hated coffee. That's why it was always full of cocoa.

"Glynda, while he may seem brusque and a little careless, he is incredibly powerful. You could say too powerful for his own good. So we would be remiss not to give him a place where he belongs, and give him people to protect. It would seem that is what he thrives on," he said with a smile.

"While that may be the case, that's not what I was talking about," she replied.

"Oh? And what were you talking about?"

"With the two last minute additions you made to our attendance roster, we no longer have enough students to four man teams without two leftover."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I have a plan," he said staring up at the sky.

Glynda looked at the man before her. She trusted him and acquiesced with a shrug and a sigh. However, Ozpin's interior thoughts told a different story.

 _"I completely forgot about that. Darn."_

 **0**

For a while, Delsin just enjoyed the feeling of the fall. He wasn't worried. Even if he did hit the ground too hard, his conduit healing would heal any damage he took in a few moments. Besides, he'd jumped off the Space Needle. This was nothing.

After a minute or two he switched to his Video power and activated his wings. He'd gotten a lot of practice with them, and he was now able sustain them for about 25 seconds and control his flight impeccably. So, using both of his Surges, he flew forward a little farther and used his thrusters to get down to the ground.

In the distance he heard several explosions and a roar, but paid them no mind. They seemed rather insignificant before the large pack of Beowolves in front of him. Fortunately, they hadn't seen him yet, but that didn't matter.

Delsin was caught off guard. Ruby had explained what the Grimm were and what they looked like, but actually seeing them now, was a whole different thing. He could almost feel the enmity flowing off of them, like putrid black waves.

He almost threw up in the bushes he crouched in, but he managed to hold it in and steel himself. Now ready, he cloaked himself and summoned two of his angels, having practiced that part of his power as well.

The angels surged forward on their wings and cut down two of the nine Grimm pack. Delsin followed and launched his Bloodthirsty Blades, killing another and breaking his invisibility. The alpha, which he recognized from the excessive bone plate armor around its torso and head, tore through the angels and with a roar roused the others into a charge.

Delsin responded in kind. Switching over to Neon, he threw a Phosphor Beam at the head of one of the ones on his left, killing it. One on his right got close and swiped at him. He ducked, evading it, and this time with Smoke, unleashed a Cinder Blast on its legs, blasting it back through a tree behind it.

Another two tried to jump on top of him, but he instead threw two Cinder Missiles out at them. One died, its head blown off, but the other powered through it and joined with another coming from the ground along his other side. Delsin used his chain and hit the one in front of him, but before he could finish his spin to hit the one behind him, it managed to swipe and cut into his back.

Delsin fell forward but Smoke Dashed away from the center of the monsters, falling on his face behind a bush.

"Time to change it up," he said aloud, switching to his Concrete power.

He'd managed, in the few seconds he had, to get up to a runner's position. As one charged into the bush where he was hiding, he Boulder Dashed back, knocking it over. Now that he was behind the charging group, he unleashed a Concrete Barrage. Of the four left standing, now only the alpha remained. The Concrete from his barrage hadn't damaged it at all, and the one he had hit into the tree was up again, ready to attack.

The last regular Beowolf charged. Delsin didn't even try to use his ranged attacks, instead punching the ground and using his Ground Smash's shockwave. The concussive force of the blast threw the beast back into a different tree, and Delsin finished it off with a quick shot of Concrete Shrapnel. Delsin and the alpha now stood facing each other, the other eight monsters' corpses fading into black dust.

Delsin switched to his Water power, this being one of the few times he'd used it in a fight. The alpha began to circle him, and Delsin turned with it, never letting it see his back. Delsin broke the stance first and used his Water's heavy attack, a high pressure water blast, seemingly the same width as a Phosphor Beam.

The beast raised an arm to block it, but the water cut right through it, removing the beasts left arm. Angrily, the beast charged and swiped at him with its remaining hand and Delsin was just a little to slow.

The alpha's claw tore into his chest, making him bleed profusely. Delsin knew his Conduit healing would fix him in a few seconds, but it still hurt, and if he didn't keep moving, he would still die. The pain made him hesitate, and the beast swiped again, this time slicing into Delsin's left arm.

Delsin rocked back from the pain, but he managed to catch himself and steel himself again. He used another of his water powers, making two water duplicates and retreating in a wave. The clones couldn't do anything, but they would slow the beast down.

As it destroyed the clones, his chest wound healed, but they were gone before his arm healed. He was about to try and attack again, determined to push through the pain, when a fireball came out from the left side of the small clearing, blasting off its remaining arm.

Delsin turned, his wounded arm still outstretched with his power active. When he turned, he saw the same boy from earlier, the one who he arrived with. Only this time he had deep red hair as opposed to the white or yellow. The young man approached Delsin, a streams of fire circling his left hand.

"Looks like you could use a hand, partner," the young man said, smirking.

Delsin smiled, his arm healed.

"I had it handled, but if you want to help, be my guest," Delsin replied, similarly smirking.

Delsin switched back to his Smoke power.

The alpha looked at them angrily and roared, seemingly almost dead, but not yet down. As the young man threw another fireball, Delsin threw another Cinder Missile, and both collided with the beast and blasted it to smithereens.

 **0**

Ozpin and Glynda were watching the battle via the cameras hidden in the forest.

"It seems your faith was not misplaced Professor," Glynda said, a small expression of shock on her face, "Though I have to wonder why he didn't use his Aura to defend himself."

Ozpin's face revealed nothing.

"He doesn't have one," he told her.

"What?!" she yelled.

"More precisely it hasn't been unlocked."

"Then how did he do all of that? More importantly, how is he still alive?"

"I don't quite know. He tried explaining it when I admitted him, but to be honest it's about as foreign an idea as he is."  
"What do you mean foreign?" she asked, her initial shock fading.

"Nevermind."

 **0**

"You all right?" the young man asked.

"Yeah, I'll heal up in about a minute," Delsin replied.

"Really? No wonder you didn't bother with your Aura."

"Wha- Oh, right. It's not that I didn't use it, it's just that I don't have one."

The young man stepped back in shock.

"What do you mean 'I don't have one'?"

"I don't. Hasn't been activated or whatever."

"Ooh. That makes … marginally more sense, I guess. So what's your name stranger?"

"Delsin. Delsin Rowe. You?"

"Alexander Roman. Call me Alex."

The two shook hands, then continued their way towards the temple. They didn't talk much on the way there, not even about themselves. After about fifteen minutes though, Alex stopped.

Delsin turned to his partner, noticing his hair had turned back to white.

"Something wrong?" Delsin asked.

"Nothings wrong, I was just considering something," Alex replied.

"What?"

"Well, you said you don't have an unlocked Aura, right?"

"Yeah. And?"

"You wanna fix that?"

Delsin was intrigued.

"OK, how?" he asked.

"Well I've never done it before, but I could try and unlock it for you," Alex offered.

"You sure you know how?"

"It's simple enough. Just moderately tiring."

Delsin thought about it for a minute. He had to admit, it was interesting. And having a secondary shield to protect him would save him a fortune on clothes, especially since the ones he was wearing had rips in them from Beowolf claws. But there was one thing he had to know first.

"I'm willing to let you try, but first I have a question."

"Shoot."

"What's up with your hair? I've seen it be three different colors now."

Alex smirked and let out a short laugh.

"Oh, that? It's part of my Semblance. Take a look."

He pulled a small brown crystal,, maybe the size of a golf ball, out of the small backpack he wore.

"That's Dust, right?" Delsin asked.

"Indeed it is, my family lives over a large Dust deposit. Anyway, one part of my Semblance allows me to do this."

With that, he took the crystal and placed it in his mouth. And swallowed. Delsin was a little shocked. He'd heard Dust was incredibly volatile and dangerous, but this guy just ate it without a care in the world.

Then Alex's hair changed. His previously white hair turned brown.

"When I eat a Dust crystal, I temporarily gain the ability to manipulate the energy that the crystal represents. Typically, it lasts until I use it up or a certain amount of time passes. If I eat a regular size crystal, like the size of a crystal you would buy at a store, it lasts about an hour. The smaller the crystal, the shorter the time and less power I have access to. It also temporarily changes me physically, each type enhancing one physical attribute and changing my hair color to the color of the Dust I ate."

"Sounds powerful. What about the one you just ate?"

"An earth crystal. It'll probably last about twenty minutes."

"What's it boost?"

"Well, earth does a similar thing as ice actually. They both increase defense, but in different ways. Ice reduces the damage my Aura takes, making it last longer, but Earth boosts my physical resistance, so if my Aura fails, I won't get hurt as badly."

"Can't you just eat both?"  
Alex laughed nervously.

"I can. It's just not a good idea. I may get both enhancements, but the more varieties I consume beyond one, the more physical pain it leaves me in. Plus Dust is already volatile. My abilities make it easy to control one element at a time, but past that it gets harder and harder to control."

"Ok, you said that's one part of your Semblance. What's the other?"

"I'll tell you later. It's not really important right now," Alex said, "So, you ready?"

Delsin had gotten caught up in the explaining and had forgotten the original point.

"Uh, yeah. Knock yourself out," he said.

"Hopefully not. Your hand please."

Alex took Delsin's hand and he began to glow, his Aura flaring brown. Delsin would later learn that there was usually a chant used alongside this action, but Alex didn't seem to need one. After about a minute Alex dropped his hand, obviously tired, and Delsin felt a warm sensation envelop him. He looked down and briefly saw his hands glow blue. He looked up at his partner and saw him doubled over.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Alex answered in between his wheezes, "It just took a lot more out of me than I thought it would."

"Ok."

It was then Delsin noticed Alex's hair had returned to white.

"You used up the earth power already?" he asked.

Alex nodded.

"Like I said, took a lot out of me."

During this conversation, Delsin noticed that Alex's shirt had two slits down the back, starting at his shoulder blades and going to about his kidneys. At the moment though, he didn't see the point of asking, and after a few minutes the two of them were moving again.

 **0**

Back on the cliffside, Glynda was still watching the students from the hidden cameras. She felt a little nervous about some of the pairings, she had to admit. Like the one on the primary camera on her tablet. A pink clad, red headed girl named Nora and a green clad boy with black hair and a pick stripe going down the left side of his hair named Ren.

"Our last pair has been formed sir, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren," Glynda reported, "Poor boy. I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Ms. Nikos."

Ozpin grunted questioningly.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat," she continued, "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple in just a few minutes."

"Good. How fares Mr. Rowe?" Ozpin asked.

Glynda pressed a few icons on her scroll.

"He's found his partner of course. Alexander Roman. The two seem to work well together. Also Mr. Rowe's scroll seems to be registering an Aura level."

Ozpin's eyes widened slightly.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes. Seeing as he previously did not have one, I assume his partner unlocked it for him, much like Ms. Nikos did with her partner."

"Interesting. Their current status?"

Glynda tapped a few more times.

"Oh. Well, at least we'll get to see how well they work together," she said, holding the tablet so Ozpin could see.

"Indeed," he said.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **So, what has happened to our hero? Who is Alex? Aw, the Hell with all this cryptic crap. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, even if it does feel a little rushed. It's just that there is so much of this story that I want to write, but most of it is not in Volume One.**

 **Also, clarification. Alex is described as having gray eyes. He is NOT, let me be clear, NOT one of the people with silver eyes. He's going to be OP enough when I get done with him, and you haven't even seen his whole Semblance yet. Also, he cannot eat crystals bigger than the ones seen in the dust shop in Volume One Episode One.**


	3. Chapter 3

**0**

 **Chapter 3: Well... That Was a Thing**

 **0**

Delsin and Alex emerged from the forest and found themselves at the temple.

"This place has definitely seen better days," Alex said.

"Well Oz did say 'abandoned,'" Delsin replied.

"Indeed he did."

The pair approached the ruins, cautious of what else could be there. Even so, they found the relics just sitting there in a ring of pedestals. Delsin approached one.

"Are these chess pieces?" he asked.

"Looks like it."

Alex walked to the back of the pedestal ring, and picked up one of the pieces.

"Might as well go big huh?" he said, holding the white king piece above his head.

"Sound good," Delsin said.

Atop a cliff face behind them, two people emerged from the forest. Delsin turned and saw it was Blake, the black-haired girl from last night and Yang, Ruby's older sister. The two slid down the sloped cliff-face and approached the two of them.

"Sup guys?" Delsin inquired.

Yang replied with a big playful smile, "Not much. Just runnin' around."

Blake walked up beside her, a small smile on her face as she saw Alex's face. His eyes hadn't moved from Yang since she'd appeared. Delsin saw it too and smiled. Then Yang turned around and caught him staring.

"Hey big guy, like what you see?" she asked playfully.

Alex broke out of his trance when he realized he was being spoken to.

"Hm?" he grunted, a little more than a little distracted.

"Do you like what you see?" Yang repeated.

"Yep," he said. Unbeknownst to the others present, he was struggling to say even that much. One word at a time was all he could manage and keep his poker face. He shot a pleading look over to his partner for a split second, and while Delsin was certainly enjoying the show, he begrudgingly decided to help.

"As much fun as I'm sure your having, the relics are right over here," Delsin said.

Yang smiled and made a show of turning away, a sly smile on her face. Alex coughed, trying both to regain his composure and hide the severe blush that had risen on his face.

The two girls entered the ring and looked over the relics. Yang stopped by one of them and held it up.

"How about a cute little pony?" she asked cheerily, holding the white knight piece over her head.

"Sure," Blake answered, her small smile growing a tiny bit.

"Well, that wasn't too hard," Delsin observed.

"It's not like this place is all that hard to find," Alex said, traces of red still visible on his cheeks.

At that moment a high-pitched scream rang out, reverberating throughout the forest.

"Some girl's on trouble! Guys, did you hear that? What should we do?" Yang asked frantically, the humor previously in her tone gone.

Blake however, was only slightly paying attention. Her eyes were instead focused on the sky. More specifically, the person _falling from it_.

Ruby was falling, screaming "Heads up!" until Jaune flew into her in midair, sending them both crashing into a tree, both of them seemingly coming from nowhere.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Delsin asked.

"I-" Yang started before she was cut off.

Trees off to their right began to fall away, revealing an Ursa charging into the clearing. Just as the group was readying their weapons, the beast collapsed. As it fell, it revealed the red-headed Nora and black-haired Ren, the former extremely energetic, the latter seemingly dead on his feet.

No one could hear their conversation over the distance, but Nora seemed dejected for all five seconds before she vanished. She reappeared behind them, eyeing a white Rook piece. She then placed it on her head and started to dance around, singing "I'm Queen of the castle, I'm Queen of the castle!"

"NORA!" Ren yelled, not as angry as one might assume from his tone.

"Coming Ren!" she beamed, sliding the Rook into her hand.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.

"I-" Yang started again.

This time the sound came from their right. A red-haired Spartan woman burst through the treeline, a scorpion shaped Grimm right on her tail (Deathstalker). Delsin recognized her actually. He'd spent a lot of time researching Remnant, and remembered she was some big shot warrior. Pyrrha Nikos, if he remembered correctly.

Just then, Ruby rolled out from the tree she had crashed into and stood up, right next to her sister.

"Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Yang!" Ruby replied energetically. She reached in to hug her sister.

"Nora!" the red-head shouted in between them, blocking the hug.

Ignoring the insanity around them, Alex asked "Did that girl run all the way here with a Deathstalker chasing her?"

Yang exploded right then. Literally.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! COULD EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!" she screamed.

Yang got her wish. But only barely. Ruby tapped her sister on the shoulder.

"Um, Yang?" she said, pointing upwards.

The group looked up to find Weiss, barely holding on to the talon of a airborne Giant Nevermore.

"How could you leave me?!" Weiss asked, a trace of fear in her voice.

Back on the ground Ruby replied, "I said jump."

"She's gonna fall," Alex said, prepping himself for something.

"She'll be fine," Ruby insisted.

"She's falling," Delsin said.

Whatever it was Alex was going to do, he didn't get a chance. As soon as Weiss got close enough, Jaune beat him to it. Sort of. He caught her midair, only just realizing that while he had her, no one had _him._ Just before he hit the ground however, Delsin switched to his Neon power and threw a Stasis Bubble, freezing the two in place. That way when they fell, they hit the ground with the force of a fall from three feet rather than thirty.

As they hit the ground, Weiss landing on Jaune's back, they both let out a short "Thank you," though Jaune's was a little more strained.

"No problem," Delsin replied.

Then Pyrrha slid in front of them, the Deathstalker finally making contact.

"Great. The gang's all here, now we can die together," Yang said faux cheerily.

"Not if I can help it," Ruby said.

She charged off, readying her scythe and using it to propel her forward even more. The moment she got within striking distance though, the Deathstalker swiped with one of its claws, knocking her aside.

"D-Don't worry! Totally fine!" she insisted, her voice shaking.

As the Deathstalker resumed its chase, Yang ran to help her sister. But as she was running, the Giant Nevermore flapped its wings to expel a great cascade of feathers, pinning Ruby down, and blocking Yang's aid.

"Shit!" Delsin yelled.

Time froze for him. In front of his own eyes, he saw his one of his only friends in Remnant, the first person he met, inches away from her death. In that moment, Reggie's dying face flashed in his mind, and with a grip on his brother's badge, Delsin sprang into action.

He shot off with his Neon power, leaving his fellow students in the dust. Dodging through the fallen feathers, he surged forward with speed that shocked even him, and just as the stinger was about to hit Ruby, he arrived, and stepped in front of it.

The stinger tore through him, punching straight through his newly unlocked aura. His blood trickled out of his wound as the stinger protruded from his chest.

"Damn," he said with a little blood trailing from his mouth, "That was my favorite jacket."

"Delsin!" Ruby screamed.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," Delsin replied, his voice strained.

He dropped a Stasis Bubble on her and flexed his power, moving the field she was locked in.

"Yang! Catch!" he yelled as he threw the field with Ruby inside.

Taking a moment to react to the sight, Yang shook herself from her catatonia and caught her sister as she fell out of stasis. As soon as she saw that her sister was fine, Yang turned back to Delsin.

Delsin turned to face the scorpion monster, it having removed its stinger.

"Okay ugly. You wanna play rough?! FINE!" he shouted as the wound in his chest started to heal.

His hand again went to his wrist and he switched to his Smoke power.

"EAT THIS!" he yelled as he knelt down, and then jumped into the air, shifting into three smoky fireballs on his way. At the height of his rise, the fireballs converged and Delsin reappeared. As he flipped over, a grimace on his face, he activated his Smoke Thrusters and propelled himself downward at top speed. As he crashed into the beast, he released a massive explosive blast of smoke that completely obliterated the monster, blasted away most of the feathers and left a moderately sized crater in the ground where it once stood.

"No one hurts my friends," he said as his body re-formed, fully healed.

The assembled students, with the exception of Alex, looked shocked at this display of power. Deathstalkers were notoriously hard to kill, and he'd done one in all on his own. As the Nevermore flew off to circle back, Delsin doubled over, still in pain even though his wound was gone.

As he was falling, Weiss and Ruby ran up and caught him, the rest not far behind.

"What was that?!" Jaune asked.

"I call it the Orbital Drop. One of my best moves, but it takes a while to charge," Delsin said as the pain started fading.

"But how did you do it?" Ren pressed.

"As much as I'm sure we would all love to talk about Delsin and his superpowers we have another problem on our hands," Alex interrupted, pointing upward.

Jaune followed his finger and said, "He's right, that thing is circling back. What do we do?"

"I say we kill it," Delsin said, pain now gone.

Weiss shook her head, "We don't need to. Our objective is right in front of us."

"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting that thing," Ruby said nodding.

Weiss smiled.

"Run and live. That is an idea I can get behind," Jaune agreed.

"You know, somehow I feel like we'll end up fighting them anyway," Delsin said.

The other pairs grabbed pieces, and they all ran off. Unfortunately, it seemed the Grimm wasn't giving up that easy. In fact, with repeated cries and shrieks, it attracted a small horde of additional Grimm, including several Beowolves and Creeps and another Deathstalker, and a few Ursi.

As they kept running, eventually they reached the cliffside, in an area occupied with ruins similar to the ones that made up the temple. On either side of them was a stone vaulted arcade. In front of them was a deep canyon, housing a tower in its center that stretched most of the way up the cliff-face.

Alex and Delsin stopped and face the pursuing horde.

"Go! We'll hold them off!" Delsin shouted.

"Are you crazy?! There's too many!" Weiss shouted in reply.

"I'll have to get back to you on that," he said, his trademarked grin on his face, "Now run!"

The other students ran off towards the cliffs, and Delsin turned to face his partner.

"You got a crystal in mind?" he asked.

Alex reached into his pack.

"Yeah, I got one," he said, pulling out a golf-ball sized Fire crystal and ate it. As he swallowed, his hair turned red.

"Just curious, what's that one buff?" Delsin asked.

"Physical strength," he said, taking deep breaths and sweating.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Fire crystals are just really spicy."

"Well get ready. They're here."

They took up positions. Delsin was on the ground as the bait, with Alex on over-watch.

When the horde started closing, Delsin unleashed several Cinder Blasts, wiping out most of the Creeps and a few Beowolves. But in doing so, he quickly depleted his Smoke reserves. Alex picked up the slack where he could, finishing off the Creeps with his fireballs. The Deathstalker in the mix managed to break through and charge the other students.

Delsin had just ran out of Cinder missiles killing two of the Ursi when Delsin heard Alex curse. His partner used the last of his Fire crystal to send up a wall, cutting off the advance of the Grimm Horde.

"Delsin! Can you handle this for a minute?!" Alex shouted.

"Uh, I guess. Why?"

"The tower's collapsing! They need help!"

"Got it! Go!"

Delsin could barely believe what he saw next. His partner jumped off the ruined wall, and Delsin understood what the slits on his shirt were for as his partner snapped out a pair of fourteen foot long _bird wings_ **(A/N: that means total wingspan, not length of each individual wing, just FYI)**.The wings were solid white, just like his hair. After a moment, Delsin shook himself free of the shock.

He returned to face the barely contained horde. Luckily the firewall was releasing enough smoke for him to refuel. Just as he finished, the wall started to die down, and the horde began to charge.

 **0**

After he rose to a sufficient height, Alex shortened his wingspan to allow for better maneuverability and speed. He had also eaten another Fire crystal, this one full size. In an instant he surveyed the battlefield. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren were dealing with the Deathstalker that had broken through, and they had it handled pretty well.

Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Blake were facing the Nevermore, and they weren't doing as well. They had just totally unloaded on it and the thing was still coming. It charged straight through the tower, knocking it down, and all four of them had fallen.

Alex flew around and caught them, his enhanced strength only barely keeping up. One by one he deposited them on the remains of the tower, using long range fireballs to keep the bird off them. Once they were all down, he dropped between them. Ruby was the first to react.

"You have wings?!" the hyperactive red-head asked.

"Yes I have wings, but I believe you have more pressing concerns," Alex answered.

"He's right. We haven't even hurt it yet," Blake said.

"Well, you got anymore tricks up your sleeve bird-man?" Yang asked.

"You guys have got this handled. But I do need a favor," he replied.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Tell me, what are your Semblances?" Alex asked, a small smile on his face.

 **0**

Delsin wasn't having the easiest time. He'd drained his Smoke a second time, as well as his Video and Water. Even still, the Grimm just kept coming, and he was getting tired. He'd killed off the Beowolves, but by then more Creeps had shown up, as well as two more Ursi and a flock of small Nevermore.

He was on his Neon now, holding Concrete for last, but he was making sure to use it conservatively. Nothing but kill shots. He ran out of Phosphor Beams dealing with the Ursi that kept showing up, and he was using his regular Neon Beams on the flock of Nevermore. He was using his Neon enhanced chain for dealing with the Creeps, but that was more hit and run than frontal assault.

His basic strategy now was run around with his Neon Dash, stop for a moment, pick off a few of the Nevermore, run to the ground to contain the Creeps by smashing a couple with his chain, then keep running so the flock couldn't pin him down.

"C'mon Delsin. You can do this," he said, thinking aloud, "They can't keep coming forever."

Just then a small pack of five more Beowolves showed up.

"Of course that doesn't mean these are all of them either."

Delsin tried to keep the same strategy he'd been using on the Grimm until then, basic hit and run, but he was running out of Neon. After another minute, he'd finished off the flock of Nevermore, but when he stopped, one of the Beowolves caught him before he could resume his dash.

The beast slashed at him with it's claws, and Delsin took them right across the chest. As the beast was rearing for another strike, Delsin managed to get a Neon Beam off and it hit the monster square in the back of the throat, killing it.

He was having trouble keeping his Aura up continuously and the claws had broken skin. At this point even his Conduit healing was struggling to keep up, but Delsin pushed through. He dumped the last of his Neon into a flurry of beams killing all of the remaining Beowolves and all but a handful of Creeps.

At this point, he really had nothing left but Concrete, but he was holding onto that in case something else showed up. He ducked behind a pillar, waiting to heal, and happened upon a small bit of luck. He found a small blue crystal, instantly recognizable as Dust. In a moment he identified it as a Water crystal. He breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Ok, I have almost no idea how this works, but here goes."

He tried his best to extend his Aura into the crystal, and got lucky again, as water began to seep out of his clenched hand. He took a few sips before he amped up the power, completely emptying the crystal onto the ground. Then he opened his arms and drained the surprisingly large pool, completely refilling his Water.

"Aw, yes!" he exclaimed.

He burst back from his hiding spot, his wounds having healed almost immediately after his recharge. In the time he'd been hiding, even more Grimm had shown up. Three more Beowolves and a pair of Ursa Majors.

"All right. Let's wrap this up."

 **0**

Ozpin and Glynda were watching them all in varying levels of awe. They were duly impressed with the students, and Alex was certainly powerful, and surprising. But what truly shocked them was Delsin. Ozpin knew a little about the boy's power, but he had single-handedly wiped out more than eighty Grimm. There were more on the way and he was only just now slowing down.

"Incredible," Glynda commented.

"Indeed. I had no idea he was this powerful. He'll make an excellent huntsman one day," Ozpin agreed.

"How is he doing all of that?" she asked.

"I'm not quite clear on it myself, but as far as I understand, it's some kind of genetic mutation that occurs naturally where he is from."

"And where is that?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Hm. And what of his partner, Alex? I thought all of the Bird Faunus were extinct."

"Evidently, that is not the case. Though even then he seems very powerful for one of his kind. It would seem that Mr. Rowe and Mr. Roman have found themselves ideal partners."

Glynda turned away from the professor to look back at the battle. Her eyes widened.

"Professor! You need to see this!" she said, worry coloring her voice.

Ozpin looked at the Scroll.

"Oh dear."

 **0**

More Grimm kept pouring through into the battlefield and Delsin was now on his last legs. He was now almost completely tapped out, having only a tiny amount of Concrete left. All of his other powers were now dry. He'd used them up slaying another flock of Nevermore and at least twenty more Creeps. Another Deathstalker had even shown up, and he'd used all but one shot of his Concrete Barrage killing it. Even his aura was depleted.

He'd switched back over to his Neon, his dash not requiring him to actually absorb anything. As the Creeps and Beowolves kept coming, he did his best to keep them contained by running around them, but it only barely worked.

One of the Creeps got a lucky shot on him and he went down, barely enough strength to stand. An alpha Beowolf moved in for the kill, and with a grunt, brought down its claw. Delsin closed his eyes, praying he'd see Reggie when death came.

It didn't.

The first thing Delsin saw as he opened his eyes was a Glyph. Having seen a little of her Semblance on the run, Delsin assumed it was Weiss. As his vision cleared, he saw he was wrong.

It was Alex.

"Stay away from my partner!" the white haired warrior shouted.

With a grunt, Alex threw up his arms and the glyph propelled the Grimm backwards. He then turned to help his partner to his feet.

"Sorry to leave you hangin' like that partner. Won't happen again," Alex informed him.

"Ok... Wait, you're a Schnee?" Delsin asked, still a little out of it.

"Hell no. Like I would ever want to be associated with those elitist assholes."

"Then how-"

"MOVE!" Alex shouted, moving them both out of the way at super fast speed, just as an Ursa claw came down where they were.

That wasn't what got Delsin's attention though. What got his attention, was the trail of rose petals his partner left behind.

 _"Oh I get it, he's like me. He absorbs power from other people,"_ Delsin thought.

"So that's the other part of your Semblance. Copycatting," he spoke aloud.

"Very good. Only to about 75% though. You alright?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, just super tapped out. You got anymore Dust on you?"

"Sure, what kind?"

"Gimme one of everything."

"Got it."

Alex dug in his pack again, and pulled out a series of the crystals. He held them out to Delsin, who grabbed a Fire, Water, and Earth crystal.

"That all you want?"

"Yeah. I got what I needed. Think you can hold 'em while I recharge?"

"I can now."

Delsin turned away and drained the water right out of the Crystal. Then the same thing with the Earth, refilling his Concrete. As his partner ran off to fight the monsters, Delsin set the tree in front of him on fire with the last crystal, and drained the smoke to refill a third power. He turned back to the battlefield just as one of Alex's new shadow clones absorbed a hit from an Ursa, leaving him a perfect opening to kill it.

"This should be the last wave," Alex said, finishing the beast off.

"How do you know?"

"Did aerial recon a minute ago, no more are coming. I think."

"All right! Lets finish these suckers off then!"

The two squared up next to each other, ready to face the remaining Grimm. Ten Creeps, seven Beowolves, and three Ursa. Alex ate an Ice crystal, this one turning his hair light blue, and Delsin switched to his Water power.

As the Grimm approached, Delsin dashed forward, coating some of the Creeps in water. Alex immediately followed up by freezing them solid. Delsin spun and Released a Pressure Slice on one of the Ursa, cutting off its head, before dashing again, this time coating a couple Beowolves. Alex froze them, and this time, with his new super-speed, he rushed over and shattered the Frozen Grimm. Now at close range, he dumped the rest of his Ice into making a wall that surrounded the remaining Grimm, trapping them.

Delsin caught on and switched to his Smoke Power. He climbed up the arcade wall, and double Smoke Dashed till he was just over the wall. With a smile on his face, he charged his Smoke Thrusters, and shot down to the ground, enveloping himself in smoke along the way. As he hit the ground, the smoke he gathered exploded outwards, blowing apart the wall, and all of the Grimm.

As they watched the Grimm disintegrate, they cheered.

"All right! Got 'em all!" Delsin said, his voice strained from fatigue.

The other students, having finished their battles, looked in awe upon the mess of disintegrating Grimm corpses. They all approached the two men, wondering how something like this was even possible for a student. Yang was the first to react.

"Damn! Way to go Big D," she said with a smile.

Delsin turned to her and laughed.

"You are way to young to call me that," he responded.

"What, I'm seventeen!"

"I'm 24! Please don't."

"Fiiiine. Old man buzzkill."

"How did you guys do all this?" Jaune asked, exasperated.

Before he could answer, Alex and Blake perked up their heads.

"Everybody get back!" Alex yelled.

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked.

"Something's coming. Something big," Blake commented, her weapon ready.

The students got their weapons ready, Delsin and Alex taking the front, the rest behind them in various positions, though they were all a little tapped out. A moment later a massive Grimm burst through the trees.

The twin heads of an Elder King Taijitu burst forth. The black head charged straight into the students from the front, while the white one tore down one side of the arcade. The students went flying, even Delsin and Alex. Fortunately, while everyone else was landing, Alex and Delsin managed to catch themselves midair. The first thing they noticed was that this thing was big. Easily twice as big as others of its kind. Using his Smoke Thrusters, Delsin glided to the arcade's still standing side. Alex followed him there.

"This thing is huge!" Alex exclaimed.

"Yeah, you got any ideas?" Delsin asked.

Alex stopped for a moment. Then he smiled devilishly.

"Yeah, I got one."

 **0**

Yang had a bit of a rough landing. She'd face planted into a tree. After a moment, she got up, dusted herself off and looked around. Nearby, she saw her partner had fared a bit better. Blake was on the ground next to her.

"You alright?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. You?" Blake replied.

"Fine. Where's everyone else?"

"Around. I can hear them. They're all fine."

"Great," Yang said, relief flooding her tone, "What about that monster? You're super ears picking up anything."

Blake smiled softly, then turned her head to listen. A look of confusion crossed her face.

"Yeah, I can hear something, I'm just not sure what it is."

"Well what's it sound like?"

"I know it sounds weird, but it's like crashing rocks or something."

 **0**

Pyrrha had fared pretty well. With her training, she managed to throw her weapon, and embed it in a tree, giving her something to land on. Her partner on the other hand... Jaune wound up caught in a tree. Again. For the third time today, as he vocally complained about from his roost. Pyrrha saw her adorkable partner in his predicament and couldn't help but laugh.

Jaune heard her.

"Yeah, very funny," he complained.

Pyrrha managed to quiet her laughing a bit.

"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help myself."

"I get it... can you help me down now?"

"Sure."

Pyrrha turned him so she could get him down. She stooped when he gasped.

"Jaune, is something wrong? I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Pyrrha? What's that?!" he asked urgently, pointing back towards the battlefield.

Pyrrha followed his finger. When she saw what he was pointing to, her eyes widened.

 **0**

The Elder King Taijitu was no longer the biggest thing on the battlefield. Instead, it was a giant jagged-stone statue, vaguely humanoid, that took that spot. And in the center of it, encased in a hollow crystalline sphere was a brown haired Alex, and Delsin.

"Not so easy now, is it, you stupid snake!" Delsin shouted as the statue kicked the beast away.

"Don't mess with the Pillar of Gaea!" Alex shouted.

"Pillar of Gaea? Cool."

"Thanks. I like naming my special moves."

The two towering behemoths were engaged in an epic battle, and were seemingly evenly matched. The Titan was slow moving but powerful and durable, but the King Taijitu was fast, and could attack from multiple angles with its two heads. Plus, maintaining the titan was requiring a herculean effort on the part of the two young men.

Delsin took control of one of the arms and smashed it into the ground, right where the snake's white head would have been. He missed, but he followed through with a supersized version of his Concrete melee, Ground Smash. The concussive blast wave sent the snake reeling, but its black head quickly darted forward and bit down hard on the hand.

While the two didn't feel any pain from the blow, it was a severe limit to the already low mobility of the titan. Alex saw it as an opportunity though, and took over the other arm. The bite had indeed limited their mobility, but it had also done the same to the snake. With the other arm, Alex reached around and managed to grab the other head. The pair looked at each other and smiled. They took control of the legs, and started to walk toward the crevasse behind them.

Evidently, the snake was smarter than it let on. The black head released its bite and darted away. While it couldn't get far, it did manage to bite back down on a rather large tree, anchoring itself. The sudden tension on the titan's arm made it stumble, and the pair only barely caught themselves in their perch as the titan fell over.

The two were struggling to get the titan back on its feet. As they were, the white head wriggled free of its grip and began to slither up the titan to its chest, where the two young men were housed. It was about to break trough the shell when both of the titan's hands smashed into it. While it reeled, the left hand grabbed it, and when the black head tried to help, the right arm caught it too.

"I've had just about enough of this," Alex said.

"Me too. Finish it off?" Delsin asked.

"You got it."

"Let's go!"

The two took their subservient arms and pulled the snake taught. Then they raised it, and pulled even more, until finally, the beast split in two, right down the center where it's bodies met. Then the titan walked over to the cliff, and threw the two halves down into the crevasse, finishing it. Then they fell backwards, exhausted from the effort as the titan cracked into pieces and fell away.

 **0**

Shortly after, an Airship came and collected the students. Ozpin may have been hard on his students, but he was no fool. While a few of them may have been able to make it, several of these students were in no shape to travel back to him. Normally he would hold true to his word, and let them die, as he said they would.

This time though, he found himself making an exception. Especially since he saw the display that Delsin and Alex had made. In all his years of teaching, Ozpin had rarely seen such incredible displays of power, and never from a student, especially ones who hadn't even completed initiation.

He was in the front of the ship while the students were in the back. As the pilot flew them back, Ozpin smiled, hopeful for the first time in years.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Ok, now this was a fun chapter to write, in case you couldn't tell. While in reality it was short, I really enjoyed the Giant monster fight. It was exhilarating. So was the sequence of Delsin fighting the Grimm horde.**

 **Also, since I find it really hard to exposition this in without it being forced to all hell, here's a little information on Alex. He has Two semblances, both of which he inherited from his parents. The Dust consumption is one (from his mother), Copycatting is the other (from his father). Now while that second one may seem super OP and broken, please note there are a few restrictions.**

 **1) While he can hold on to all Semblances permanently, it is spotty as to how much of one he gets. Typically he only gets about 75% of one, meaning they are nerfed in some way.**

 **2) Some Semblances he cannot absorb, or have no use to him**

 **3) Using more than one Semblance at a time causes a** _ **massive**_ **drain on his Aura, meaning he can deplete it all on his own, even just practicing.**

 **Now also, there's a list of buffs for the different types of Dust Crystals, based on ones we've seen so far. (in the actual show, not this fic.) All boosts increase their respective attribute by 50%, and grant a 10% boost to aura while in effect, with the exception of Wind and Gravity.**

 **Fire = Physical Strength**

 **Water = Aura Healing Boost**

 **Lightning = Speed**

 **Earth = Physical Defense**

 **Ice = Aura Damage Absorption**

 **Wind = Aura (Total boost to Aura level of 70%)**

 **Gravity = 25% Debuff to all attributes (due to the massive power it is)**

 **All in all, I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves. Please let me know what you think about the story so far and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.**


	4. Chapter 4

**0**

 **Chapter 4: Down Time**

 **0**

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL. Led by, Cardin Winchester," Ozpin said into his microphone.

Applause rang out as the four students left the stage. As they walked away Delsin only half paid attention as the last two teams were announced, Team RWBY and Team JNPR. It was only when his own name was called that he paid any attention.

"Finally, Delsin Rowe, Alexander Roman. If you could please join me on the stage," Ozpin called to the duo.

They walked up onto the stage.

"At every Huntsman academy, four man teams are the standard. They provide enough support to make sure the members work together, as well as enough versatility to overcome most any obstacle. This is common knowledge. However, this time around we seem to have an exception to that line up. The two young men before me have demonstrated power and versatility, as well as teamwork and compatibility well beyond their years."

Alex and Delsin looked at one another with prideful, if a little confused, faces.

"And so, it is with great expectations, and with even greater enthusiasm, that I announce the first ever, two man team at Beacon," he continued, breaking his trademarked stoicism long enough to smile and applaud.

The whole amphitheater soon joined him as Delsin and Alex were hailed as champions. The two reveled in the adoration. After a minute or two, Ozpin walked over between them and whispered.

"When I dismiss everyone, wait a few minutes, then come to my office."

The two nodded almost imperceptibly, confused looks crossing their faces for just a moment before passing.

 **0**

After the assembly was over, Alex and Delsin split off and went to Ozpin's office like he asked. It was a long elevator ride, since Oz's office was on the top floor of Beacon Tower. When they arrived, they found Glynda and Oz waiting for them. They were reviewing footage they had taken during the battle between the pair and the horde of Grimm.

At first they weren't sure Ozpin noticed them, until he beckoned them forward. He never looked up, even once, until they were right at his desk.

"Thank you for coming. Please, sit down," Oz told them, still looking at the video.

"Sir? What's this about?" Alex asked as they both sat down.

Ozpin put the tablet down and looked at them.

"Straight to the point. Good. I needed to speak with you regarding your placement at my school. Specifically, your team structure."

"What do you mean?" Delsin asked.

"As I said, you are the first two man team in the history of Beacon Academy. Understandably, your team structure and operations are going to be rather different from the norm."

"Ok, keep it going." Delsin said, voicing their shared hope he would get to his point already.

Ozpin smirked.

"Well for starters, your team will have no leader. You two will work together to complete your objectives. I assume you find this agreeable?"

The pair nodded.

"Excellent. Now for actual team based exercises, such as mission deployments, Vale law prevents me from deploying you to outside the kingdom as less then a four man team. As such, for those exercises, you will be deployed alongside another Beacon team of the same year."

"Which one?" Alex asked.

"Team RWBY."

"Why them?"

"Does it matter?"

Alex leaned back in his chair.

"Um, not really, but I would kinda like to know."

"Well, while I did admit her two years before she would normally be eligible, Ms. Rose is still inexperienced, and some of her other teammates-"

"Weiss," Delsin mumbled in a cough.

Ozpin gave him a wilting stare as he continued.

"- will probably not like being led by a leader two years their junior. So, you will be operating with them to not only round out the power dynamic, but also to keep the other team members under control. Is that acceptable?"

Alex nodded.

"Good. Now, regarding the Vytal Festival tournament. I assume you want to compete?"

"The what now?" Delsin asked.

Ozpin looked confused, before he remembered Delsin wasn't from around here. Luckily Alex helped him out.

"Big combat tournament, end of the year, I'll explain more later. Just say yes," Alex explained.

"Ok. Yes?" Delsin said, still confused.

"Good. Now, as that is also a team based competition, you will not be able to compete. That is unless you can find another team that will allow you to sub in for some of their members."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"Well, normally the tournament is 4 on 4, to 2 on 2, to 1 on 1. No team can be larger than four members, so the team you are temporarily joining would build a team of four from a pool of six, and so on as the tournament progressed. Understand now?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now that we are all clear on that, I have one more thing to discuss with you."

"What?" Delsin asked.

"You two are exceptionally powerful, even more so than some veteran huntsman, which is why I made your team in the first place. As such, you will be held to higher standards of performance. Do not think I will let you coast on your abilities."

Neither one of them was shaken by this. They'd lost any illusions of ease in initiation.

"Ok. You may go," Ozpin said as he picked his tablet back up.

The two stood up and walked back to the elevator. As it opened, Ozpin hurriedly put his tablet down.

"Mr. Rowe. I need to speak with you privately," He almost shouted.

Alex looked at Delsin questioningly. Delsin returned the look with a confused shrug. As the elevator dinged, Alex got on alone as Delsin walked back over to Ozpin's desk.

"What is it?" Delsin asked.

"Mr. Rowe, could you explain to me," Ozpin said, turning the tablet to him, "what this is?"

Ozpin had just received an image file. The picture was of a jagged purple rock. It appeared like it was glowing softly. Delsin recognized it immediately, and a look of shock and confusion crossed his face.

"I take it you know what this is?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah," he said, his tone matching his face.

After a moment he regained his composure, and gave Oz a questioning look.

"Why did you think I would?"

"When you escaped the police station, you left behind a composite residue. I collected a sample and ran an initial set of tests. The tests concluded it was ash, but its make-up was unusual. I sent it to a colleague of mine in Atlas to have him analyze it. He confirmed, it was not any kind of smoke found anywhere in Remnant. He then informed me that one of his research teams recently found an object that tested similarly. That object was this. What is it exactly?"

Delsin cleared his throat.

"It's called a Blast Core. In the original explosion that created Conduits, fragments of stone and other stuff got hit with this kind of weird radiation that changed them into those, though that one looks a lot bigger than normal," he explained.

"So it's from your world? How did it end up here?"

"Oz, I don't even know how _I_ got here. How should I know?"

"Fair enough. So what do you do with them? Can they be used to grant people powers like yours?"

Delsin scratched his head.

"Well they have to have the Conduit gene, but past that … I dunno, maybe? Look, I have a little more than a basic knowledge of this from the files I … liberated from a Conduit detention facility. I don't really know how this works."

"So what do you know about it?"

"Give one to a Conduit, pass electricity through it, it boosts their abilities."

"Interesting. I would very much like to see how that works. If I had it shipped here, would you be interested in using it?"

Delsin nearly choked, but managed to stumble out a response.

"Are you kidding? Hell yeah!"

"Excellent. I'll have it shipped and it should be here in around eight to ten days," Ozpin said picking up his tablet.

Delsin turned to leave, but caught himself, realizing there was one more thing he should tell the professor.

"You might wanna know, once I use the Core, it's done. It'll be nothing but a hunk of rock."

Ozpin stopped typing, and mulled it over.

"So be it. They've run all the tests they can anyway."

Delsin nodded and got in the elevator, he gave himself a happy fist-pump.

"Alright! New powers!"

 **0**

Delsin Neon Dashed to his new room. It had been a long day and he all he wanted to do was take a nap. He swiped his Scroll across the lock and the door swung open. Alex had beat him there, and was currently lounging without his shirt and his wings out. He sat up as Delsin walked in.

"Hey man. What was that about?" he asked.

"Just some stuff," Delsin replied.

He walked over to his bed and plopped down. Then he got up, unable to ignore his curiosity anymore.

"Ok, I gotta ask, why aren't you wearing a shirt?" he questioned.

Alex turned to him.

"Dude, do you know how uncomfortable it is to keep these things under clothes all day? Not to mention the amount of times my feathers get clumpy. Sometimes I just gotta let 'em out."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah man. Do you know how much of a pain it is to keep these things clean? It takes me like, twenty minutes in the shower. Per wing! It's so annoying!" he whined.

"Well sure, but you can still fly, right?"

Alex turned onto his back.

"Yeah, that is pretty great, I guess."

After a minute or two, Alex spoke up.

"Dinner's over in a 30 minutes, you should get some before it's gone," he said.

Delsin groaned, and got up. He was walking out of the room, when he noticed no one was following him.

"You not coming Alex?" he asked.

"Not hungry. Already ate," Alex replied.

Delsin shrugged and left the room.

 **0**

He arrived at the cafeteria just as food was being served. In hindsight, Delsin was glad Alex told him to get some food. He'd noticed that the more he stressed his Conduit healing, the more food he needed to stay upright, and today was one of those days he'd pushed it a bit too much.

He got his meal, and found his way to an empty table. There weren't a lot of people there that evening, most people who'd gone through initiation just wanted to go to sleep. He was ok with that, he liked the peace and quiet. After all, quiet meant no trouble.

He was just about to start eating when an accented voice called out.

"Liar!" the voice shouted playfully.

Delsin looked up to find it's source.

"Velvet?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, you big liar," she replied smiling, "What are you doing here? You said you weren't a student!"

Delsin scratched the back of his head.

"I wasn't lying at the time. I wasn't a student when you asked."

She tried giving him a disapproving look, but her playful smile set the real mood. She broke her poker face and let out a quiet giggle, and so did Delsin.

"Well anyway, it's good to see you. How are you?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

"A little sore still from initiation."

"Oof, I remember that. Not fun."

"Really? How was yours?"

"Wait, you … really wanna know?"

"Why else would I ask?"

"Huh. Ok."

She told him the story of her initiation adventure. She had actually managed the whole thing pretty well after landing, or in her case, crash-landing. As she told her story, the rest of the people in the cafeteria were on their way out. Eventually the sun went down, and the two looked up to find themselves alone.

"Huh. Guess everyone else went to bed," Delsin surveyed.

"We probably should too," Velvet said, standing up.

"Probably."

Delsin cleaned up after himself and he and Velvet walked out of the cafeteria. Their paths soon diverged and they turned away with a quick goodbye. As they were walking away, Delsin turned back to Velvet.

"Hey Velvet!" he called.

The rabbit Faunus turned to face him. Delsin walked up to her.

"I just wanna tell you something."

"What?" she asked.

"Just that, I know what it's like to be hated for what you are. I want you to know that, and that if anyone messes with you because of those damn adorable ears of yours, let me know. I'll take care of it."

The moment he mentioned her ears, Velvet went beet red. Again. But she heard what Delsin said, and smiled gratefully. As she turned away, he smiled and walked back to his room.

 **0**

Alex was in his room asleep when Delsin returned. Unfortunately he was a very light sleeper, and the Conduit was not very quiet with a heavy chain on his wrist. Alex woke in time to see Delsin plop down onto his own bed.

"You're home late," Alex said.

Delsin turned to face him.

"Is that a problem?" he grumbled.

"No, but it has made me curious. What kept you?"

"Ran into a friend in the cafeteria. Can I go to bed now?"

Alex smiled.

"Ok, remember we have class in the morning, about 9:00."

Delsin groaned, and the two soon fell asleep.

 **0**

Delsin woke up first the next morning, and surveyed his new quarters. It was the same size as all of the other dorms, with the same furnishings. He didn't need to unpack, he didn't have any stuff after all, but he did redecorate a little. He took one of the other beds and pushed it up next to his so it doubled his sleep space.

His only decorative work done, he took a shower. As the water washed over him, he had his first real opportunity to think about his situation. Here he was in a new world, one that was completely different from his old one. He started to wonder how he got here, and after that got nowhere fast, his thoughts went to his actual home. He wondered what the Akomish would think when they heard of his disappearance. Did they think he was dead?

Then he wondered how Eugene and Fetch were doing in his absence. He had been the symbol of the Second Age after all, it couldn't be easy now that he was gone. Not that it had been in the first place. He hoped they were still alive at least. After a while he stopped the water and just stood there. His thoughts finally turned to one subject he was intentionally putting off.

What if he never got home?

As he got out of the shower, he wiped the steam away from the mirror, and looked himself in the eye, thinking on that question. After a while, he reached a conclusion. If he did get to go back home some day, he would do his best to leave this world better than he found it. If he didn't, same thing.

He smiled to himself and used his Water power to drain the water in the room. Not only did it leave him dry, he found it was an excellent way to keep the place from molding over. He got dressed and left the bathroom.

He exited just in time to see his partner wake up. Alex had been sprawled out on his bed, facing down since wings made back sleeping incredibly uncomfortable. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and saw his partner already awake.

"Morning," Delsin said with a small grin.

"Mm-hm," was the only response he got.

Delsin smirked a little more and used a little bit of his power to splash his face with cold water. Alex immediately woke up.

"Dude!" he shouted.

Delsin merely smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Alex grumbled a bit as he got out of bed.

"How do you even do that anyway? You implant Dust in yourself or something?" Alex asked, still a little ticked at his rough wake up call.

Delsin had been inspecting his uniform (which he was determined to find a way out of wearing) when he heard Alex's question. It made him pause. He still hadn't told Alex about his powers or his origins. If they were going to work together, he really ought to tell him.

 _"I'll tell him after class,"_ Delsin thought.

"Something like that. Tell you more about it after class," he said aloud.

Alex merely grumbled on his way to his own shower.

Delsin did his partner a favor and pushed his beds together as he'd done for himself. After that he got back to researching Remnant. It was almost forty-five minutes later when his partner came out of the shower, airing his wings out.

"Hey Delsin?" he asked.

Delsin perked up, but didn't look away from his research.

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

Delsin closed his research tab and checked.

"Oh, shit," he said, frantically putting away his Scroll.

"What?"

"It's 8:47. We gotta go, class starts in less than fifteen minutes," he said hurriedly.

"Dammit, but my feathers are still wet," Alex complained.

"Here," Delsin said.

He raised a hand and drained the water off his partner. Alex was a little stunned, but he got over it pretty quick and looked a little smug.

"Alright. Let's go. Race you?"

Delsin smiled and switched to his Neon.

"You're on."

In two minutes, Alex was dressed and had eaten a lightning crystal. They counted down from ten, and they were off, a trail of rose petals and neon markings behind them.

 **0**

Alex won that race, though not by a huge margin. Delsin was maybe ten to twenty seconds behind him.

When they reached the classroom door it was 8:55. They walked in to see several students already there. The teacher was an older man, with exceptionally styled gray heir and a spectacular mustache that hid most of his lower face, including his entire mouth. Somehow.

This was Professor Port, teacher of Grimm Studies. The professor saw them come in.

"Ah! Welcome students. Please come in," he said in an incredibly jovial and upbeat manner. Clearly he was a morning person.

Alex and Delsin went up the amphitheater-style room to the top level at the back of the classroom, and sat down,

At 9:00, just as the bell rang, all the members of both Team RWBY and Team JNPR, entered, just barely on time.

"So glad you could join us. Please do make an effort to make it here on time in ht future," the professor said to the nearly late party.

After a brief round of introductions, he began his lesson.

"Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I merely refer to them as prey. Ha ha!" Professor Port said jovially.

Whatever the joke was, no one got it.

Delsin barely paid attention. Alex, and most of the other students for that matter, weren't that much better about it. It got worse when he tried to be funny, and when he tried to wink at Yang, Alex nearly lost it. When he descended into story time, Delsin fell asleep.

He woke up thirty minutes later to the sound of explosions.

He stood up with a start, his hands glowing with Neon power. His heart was racing, his mind too. When he saw his partner down on the floor fighting a Boarbatusk, he lost it. His instincts took over, and he launched two Phosphor Beams at the beast. The first hit it in the leg, but the second blasted off its head, obliterating it.

Blake was the first to turn and see him. He had a wild look in his eyes, one that she recognized. It was the face of fear. Fear that someone you cared about was going to get hurt. Or worse. Alex recognized it too, once he stopped to look. He had been in the middle of grappling with the Grimm's tusks when it died.

After a moment, Delsin's mind slowed, and time caught up with him. He slumped down into his chair, only now remembering where he was and what was happening. Alex and Blake rushed too him, Ruby and the rest following.

"Delsin, you ok?" Alex asked.

Blake said nothing. She simply looked at him comprehendingly.

Port knew that look as well, and while the other students were checking on him, he sighed.

"Alright. That's it for today, class dismissed," he said, most of his usual cheer not present in his voice.

The students, Delsin included, began to exit the room.

"Mr. Rowe. Can I speak with you for a moment?" the professor asked.

Delsin looked back at him, a little confused. He went back to a seat at the front of the classroom. Professor Port walked up to him and pulled a flask out of his interior coat pocket. He took a swig and handed it to Delsin.

"Uh, you sure teach?" Delsin asked.

"You're over 21 and you need to relax. Go on, I won't tell if you won't." Port replied smiling.

Delsin took a swig. And immediately regretted it because the drink was vile. And it burned. A lot. He coughed a bit too. Port laughed.

"Not much of a drinker are you?" he said, his joviality returning, "Good."

Delsin was still coughing, but looked at him confused.

Port put the flask away, and waited for his student to stop coughing before continuing. Once he stopped, Port sat down in the chair next to him.

"I saw that look on your face when you killed that Grimm."

Delsin looked him dead in the eyes, but said nothing.

"That look was the look of someone all too familiar with loss. Someone who is fighting desperately to protect the ones they care for, because they know what happens when they don't."

Delsin hung his head a bit, and gripped his brother's badge.

"Who did you lose Delsin?" the professor pressed.

Delsin didn't respond, but his grip on the badge tightened.

Port leaned back in his chair.

"Delsin, do you know the reason we have teams instead of individuals at the academies?"

"No. In case Oz never told you, I'm not from around here."

"He did. He told most of the faculty after you were admitted. Anyway, the reason is support. No man can win alone, not even someone as skilled as me. Not because we lack power, though that may be the case at times, but because after a while, the constant battles and danger can get to you. When that happens, it never ends well for anyone involved. _That_ is why we have teams. If one person falls, the others are there to help him pick himself up. Remember that, because if you don't, you'll wind up looking towards things like this to solve your problems," he said, patting the pocket where his flask was held.

Delsin looked at him, shocked that this professor could be so insightful and serious. Then it hit him.

"Speaking from experience there teach?" he asked.

Port just smiled, and stood up.

"Now why don't you run along. You've got a class to get too, and I've got another one starting in a bit."

Delsin rose, his brother's badge hanging around his neck, and a small smile on his face.

"Thank you professor," he said.

Professor Port just smiled and waved him out of the room.

 **0**

The rest of his first day went a lot better than that, and after class that day, Delsin went back to his room to talk to his partner. Alex was laying on his now double sized bed with his wings out, reading a book. He sat up when his partner came in.

"Hey Delsin, how you doing? You alright?" Alex asked, still worried from Delsin's episode earlier.

Delsin smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, sitting on his own bed.

"Well if you need to talk about anything, I'm here, ok? I've been through some tough times myself, I know how it feels."

"OK. Though if you want I do have something to discuss with you."

"Sure," he said without hesitation, "What is it?"

"Well, if we're going to work with each other as partners, you need to know a few things about me. Including my powers."

Alex really perked up then.

"Yeah, I asked about that earlier."

"Uh-huh. You'd better get settled in, this is gonna be a long story."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **I just gotta say something: Wow. I'm writing this two days after I posted the first three chapters and I am amazed at the traffic report. 493 views total since 7/18/2017? That dwarfs everything I have ever written _combined_ by a huge margin. You guys are awesome, Thank you so much for your support. Updates will be on Tuesday's from here on out, so keep a watchful eye on it. As always, don't forget to review, even if it's just two words. All thoughts are appreciated. **

**Also, I have received notice that my OC is OP (Ha ha). Let me assure you, this is intentional, not an oversight. It is part of his character, and I do have my reasons. As for what those are, well I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see.**


	5. Chapter 5

**0**

 **Chapter Five: New Friends, Old Habits**

 **0**

All in all, Alex took the story pretty well. He'd had a few questions here and there, but past that, he was perfectly open to the idea of other dimensions. The next few days passed by pretty quick, and before long, it was Saturday.

They woke up around 7:00 and went to the cafeteria for breakfast. When they arrived, a quick look around revealed Teams RWBY and JNPR were already there. After getting their food, the pair went to their friends.

"Sup guys!" Delsin said.

"Hi Delsin!" Nora said cheerily.

"Hey, man," Jaune chimed in.

"How ya doin' D?" Yang asked.

"Yang, for the twelfth time, please don't call me that," Delsin replied, holding his face in his hands.

"You got it old man," she beamed.

"I'm 24!"

"Like I said, old man."

"Ugh," Delsin moaned as his friends laughed.

After that, the conversation carried on quite nicely, though with more than a few jokes at Delsin's expense. As the meal dragged on, people stated to filter out, ans pretty soon it was only Ruby and Delsin talking.

"So, are you liking Beacon?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. It's a big change from where I'm from, but so far it's pretty good." Delsin replied.

Ruby looked perplexed.

"Where are you from anyway? You never told me."

"Just a small town I'm sure you've never heard of," he replied. And it was the truth. He was absolutely sure Ruby had never heard of the Akomish.

"Hm."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Delsin?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"I noticed something."

"What?"

"You've been wearing the same clothes for a few days."

Delsin looked down at himself.

"So I have."

Ruby looked at him quizzically, and he sighed.

"I didn't have a chance to grab any clothes when I came here."

"Huh?"

"I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind."

"Uh, ok."

Another awkward silence descended, but Delsin forced his way through it.

"So, do you know where I could buy some clothes? I don't exactly know my way around here."

"Uh, I can ask Yang?"

"That works."

She pulled out her Scroll, and sent a message. A moment later there was a response.

"Oh, here," Ruby said, "She sent me a map, I'll send it to you."

Delsin's Scroll buzzed as he received the image.

"Thanks. Like you said, I need clothes. See you around Ruby," he smiled.

 **0**

Delsin caught an Airship ride into Vale later that day. True to his word, he was going to buy some clothes. Unfortunately, Yang apparently had no idea how to use a map, and the one she sent made absolutely no sense. After several wrong turns, Delsin quickly found that he had no idea where he was, and that he was probably nowhere near where he was supposed to be going.

After twenty minutes of being lost, he gave up and started parkouring up a building. When he reached the top of the three-story building, he looked around. He could see Beacon, and the Airship station, but with those as his only landmarks, he still had no idea where he was supposed to go.

He pulled out his Scroll and checked the map again. No help. From his surroundings, he knew he was in the Commercial District, but that was about it. He was about to give up and go back to street level to just start asking around when he heard a cry for help.

He smiled and turned on his Neon power. At his top speed, he bolted to the source of the cry. When he arrived at the scene, it was almost identical to the last one he came to. He sighed, hoping for a little change, but still, he got to work.

This time, there were four guys, all of which absolutely reeked of alcohol. He couldn't see their target, but at this point it really didn't matter. He switched to his Smoke power.

"Hey!" he called from a rooftop.

The four turned to him, and he jumped down, not even bothering with his thrusters.

"Maybe you should pick on someone your own size," he said, his inner child cheering at his cliché.

As he spoke, one of the men threw a whiskey bottle at his head. Most people would dodge, but Delsin just stood there. As the bottle was about to hit him, Delsin turned into smoke and the bottle passed right through him.

"The fuck?" one of the guys slurred.

"You know what, forget what I said. Maybe you guys should go home before someone your size picks on you," he said, smirking.

The biggest guy shoved one of his buddies, and that one charged him. Again, Delsin just stood there. As the drunk closed in (it took longer than normal since he was wobbling) Delsin raised his hand and blasted him in the face with a sulfur-infused headshot. The man started to cough violently, and Delsin subdued him with a little extra smoke.

The big guy, who was apparently the leader, growled at him.

"So that's how it's gonna be? Alright."

The other two rushed him. Or rather, they tried to. When they ran forward, he returned the action with a Smoke Dash. With a little extra power, he subdued them both just like the first. At the end of his dash, he was face to face with the only remaining guy, a smirk on his face.

His smirk didn't last long. The man apparently wasn't as stupid as he looked, and had managed to guess where Delsin would end up. Delsin didn't see the chain hit him, but he felt it as it knocked him back a couple feet. Lucky for him he'd been practicing with his Aura. He'd come away with nothing but a rapidly healing split lip.

He wiped his mouth.

"Get lost freak," the hulking mass of alcohol drenched flesh spat, unfurling the rest of his chain.

"Hey, I've got one of those," Delsin replied, revealing his own. For added effect, he wreathed it in fire and smoke.

The man didn't seem to care, but with his eyes locked on Delsin's face, he didn't notice the Sulfur Bomb at his feet. As the two squared off, Delsin smiled, and the bomb went off. The man was caught off guard, and with one swing of his chain, Delsin smashed the man in the face and subdued him. As the man fell, Delsin looked at his unconscious and smoke-bound body with a very smug and satisfied look on his face.

"Delsin?" an accented voice asked quietly behind him.

Delsin turned around.

"Velvet?" he asked, a touch exasperated.

The rabbit Faunus smiled shyly. Delsin sighed, but kept up a smirk.

"We really gotta stop meeting like this," he said.

Velvet laughed.

Just then a woman rounded the corner to the alleyway.

"Velvet!" she yelled.

"Coco!" Velvet replied.

Delsin only barely managed to catch a glimpse of her general coffee-based color scheme before it hit him.

"Stay away from her you Faunus hating creep!" the woman yelled, as she hit him upside the head with her disturbingly heavy purse, knocking him out cold.

 **0**

He woke up a few minutes later. He was still in the alley, but now he was sitting up, leaned against the side of a building rather than laying down.

"Mm, my head," he moaned.

"Delsin!" he heard Velvet say.

"Ow. Quiet please," he replied, his hands on his head.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Delsin managed to open his eyes. The coffee girl was there, wearing an outfit that, now that he could see it clearly, absolutely _screamed_ fashionista.

"You ok now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, before turning to her friend, "Lady, what do you have in that purse, a cinderblock?"

The girl, whom he remembered was named Coco turned to him, a guilty smile on her face.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Got you mixed up with those creeps," she told him, motioning to the bound and now unconscious group of thugs behind him. Delsin shrugged.

"It's okay. I'll be fine in a second."

He stood up, the pain already faded.

"So what brings you here?" Velvet asked.

"Well, I'm kinda wearing my whole wardrobe. I was on my way to change that but Yang, apparently, has no idea how maps work."

Velvet and Coco laughed.

"Well, it's a good thing you ran into us then," Velvet told him, "Coco is an expert on that kind of thing."

Delsin perked up.

"Really?" he asked.

Coco smiled.

"I wouldn't say expert, but everything you see here?" she said, motioning to her outfit, "I designed and produced myself."

Delsin nodded.

"Nice," he replied smiling, "So, you help me find clothes that I like, and I'll forget that you hit me in the face with a two-ton handbag."

Coco laughed.

"Sounds good. C'mon."

They left the alley. With Coco and Velvet as his guides, he quickly found himself at his destination. Starlight Outfitters.

"Are you sure this is a clothing store?" Delsin asked.

"Yes I am," Coco replied.

She was about to open the door, when Delsin cut her off, making a show of gentlemanly holding open the door for the both of them. Coco looked at him with a suspicious grin, and Velvet smiled. The store looked like your average medium sized clothing store, though with a much better organizational structure. The whole layout was probably about 3,500 square feet.

As Delsin closed the door, an entry bell rang, and a man emerged from what he guessed was a back office.

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite customer! Coco, how are you?" the man asked.

Coco walked up to him and gave him a quick hug.

"Doin' great Mr. H. How's life?" she asked.

"Excellent. Those new designs you gave me have practically flown off the racks!"

"And your husband?" she asked in reply.

"George is off in Mistral right now, working out a deal with a new fabric distributor, and helping set up our new branch."

"Great! New material's for me to work with."

The man called Mr. H looked over her shoulder.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" he asked, looking at Delsin.

"Uh-huh. Mr. H, meet Delsin Rowe," she said, gesturing, "Delsin, Mr. Johnathan Halbridge. He's an old friend of my dad's."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Delsin," Mr. Halbridge said as he strode forward, a hand extended.

"You too Mr. Halbridge," Delsin replied, shaking his hand.

"Velvet, always good to see you," Mr. Halbridge said to the rabbit Faunus.

"Likewise Mr. H,"

He stood there for a moment, a small smile on his face, before turning back to Coco.

"Not that I don't enjoy your company my dear, but what brings you by?"

"Well, my friend here is in need of a new wardrobe."

"Oh? But he looks fantastic the way he is. I bet it took months to perfect that look."

Delsin threw up his arms.

"Thank you! Somebody finally noticed."

Mr. Halbridge laughed.

"Normally I would trust your judgment on this, but seeing as he is wearing his entire wardrobe, I think he needs a little help," Coco said.

"I see. Well young man, have a look around. I'm sure you'll find something you like."

At that, Delsin started searching. It took him a lot longer to find stuff he would actually wear, because Velvet and Coco had him trying on practically everything in sight. About an hour later, he came to the register with two hoodies, one white and one black, a new jean-jacket, three new pairs of jeans and a small collection of other clothes, some of which the girls forced on him.

When he went reach for his wallet, Johnathan stopped him.

"No need for that," he said with a smile.

"I'm sorry?" Delsin responded, a bit confused.

"With all of the money Coco brings to my store, I can afford to give away a few things, especially to one of Coco's friends."

Delsin was a bit taken aback at this. But, with a sincere "thank you" and a few bags, he and his friends left the store. On their way back to Beacon, they passed a hardware store, and Delsin got an idea.

"Hey, can we stop in there for a sec? I need to get something," he said.

"At a hardware store?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah. I'll be right back," he said, already back-pedaling.

"Uh, ok. We'll be here," she called after him.

He went into the store and immediately gravitated to the spray paint. He got a few colors, but mostly his selections were black, blue, white and yellow. He smiled, happy he'd be able to get back to his "art projects."

He went to the register and paid for his supplies, very grateful he didn't have to pay for the clothes. When he left, Velvet and Coco were still there, just as they'd promised.

"So what did you get?" Velvet asked.

"Oh, just some art supplies," he said with a smirk.

Velvet looked at him suspiciously, and Coco smiled.

"Is that a food truck? I'm starving," Delsin said innocently.

 **0**

After getting Delsin a taco or five, they started walking. Delsin would have been fine just heading back to Beacon, but Velvet insisted that they show him around a bit, so he would actually know where things were if he needed come back.

Over then next couple hours, the three of them had explored most of the commercial area, giving Delsin a passable knowledge of the city. It was getting late and they were on their way back when it started to rain.

It was slow at first, but it started to pick up the closer they got to the Airship station. After a few minutes, they decided to give up and wait out the rain in a nearby bookstore.

"Man, it's really coming down out there," Delsin said.

Velvet nodded in agreement.

They walked further inside, and three eventually settled down with something to read. Even Delsin did, though he made sure to stay close to the door. He and bookstore's didn't exactly get along from his point of view.

An hour had came and went, but the rain seemed to have only barely let up. Delsin also noticed that the sounds of thunder seemed to be getting closer, but he didn't pay much attention to that. He was in the middle of trying to read the first book in an apparently popular mystery novel series when Coco came up to him.

"Hey Delsin?" he heard her ask.

Thankful for the distraction, he looked up.

"What is it Coco?" he asked.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," he replied, putting the book down.

She brought him to an aisle that he noticed was out of Velvet's sight line. Without a word, she shoved a book and a Lien card into his hand.

"Use that card, buy this book, and give it to Velvet," she said hurriedly.

"Whoa, slow down! What?"

"Buy that book for Velvet!"

"Uh, why?" he asked, growing more confused by the second.

Coco sighed and pinched her nose.

"You really can't see it, can you?" she said quietly.

"See what?!" he asked, exasperated.

Coco sighed.

"You are one of the first humans in Velvet's life to treat her nicely without any kind of incentive, and that makes her really happy. She likes you a lot, and she doesn't have a lot of friends, so I'm trying to help. Now get on with it, buster!"

Now it was Delsin's turn to sigh, only this time in defeat. Without any further resistance, he went to a register and bought the book. After he bought it, he looked around for the rabbit Faunus, yet he was unable to find her.

He finally found her standing outside. Just as he was about to approach her, a thunderbolt rocked the area. Most people are lucky enough to never learn this, but thunder is actually very loud when you're right next to it.

Delsin burst out of the store and frantically searched the area, though he nearly knocked over Velvet in the process.

"Delsin!" Velvet shouted, pointing down the street.

Delsin turned and followed her finger. What he saw was nothing good.

At the end of the street, a three-story apartment building was on fire. The fire department would later discover that the contractor had used sub-standard materials in its construction, and the grounding mechanism had failed at the first lightning strike.

But Delsin didn't care about any of that. All he cared about was that the people were still inside.

While he was standing there, Coco had rushed out alongside him. The apartment building was maybe thirty feet from them, and he was done waiting.

"Take this," he said, throwing the bag to Coco, "I'm going to help those people."

He started to dash off, but Velvet grabbed his arm.

"Are you insane?!" she screamed, "You'll get yourself killed!"

He shrugged her off.

"And if I don't go, they'll all die! I'm not going to let them!" he yelled back.

She pulled back her hand when she saw the desperation on his face, and with a quick nod, he ran off.

 **0**

In front of the building he switched to his Water power, and doused the area around the door as he ran inside. A bunch of people, maybe a little more than half the building's occupants, barreled past him as the fire died. He barely noticed them.

He couldn't see or hear the others in the building over the sound of the fire and the smoke, but still he pressed on. He quickly used up his Water powers dousing what he could of the fire, but most of the water evaporated immediately after he threw it. He switched to his smoke, and drained all he could take, making a visible path for more of the residents to pass through.

After the first floor was clear, he moved up to the next, blasting Smoke at everything he safely could to make room for more. The moment he got to the second floor, he found a room with people still inside. The doorknob was burning up and they couldn't get out. After telling the occupants to back up, he Cinder Missiled the door off its hinges, giving them a way out.

The occupants, two little kids who'd been at home alone, ran past him. As he kept moving forward, he did his best to drain the Smoke, but it was getting to be too much. He was taking in way more than he could handle, and it was getting to be painful.

He cleared the second floor relatively quickly, all things considered. He'd had to Cinder Blast through a lot of debris from the floor's above, but at the moment, conservation of power was a non-issue. By the time he'd gotten to the third and final floor, almost all of the building's residents were out of the building. Only problem was, he simply couldn't take in any more Smoke. His body wouldn't let him.

Nevertheless, he persisted. On the top of the stairs, he abandoned all restraint. Since there was little that could fall on whoever was left, and with time becoming a bigger issue, he simply started Cinder Blasting down all the walls that he could, including the ceiling so the smoke had somewhere to go.

Surprisingly, it worked. He'd soon cleared the almost the entire floor, only a few rooms remaining. He'd almost fallen a few times as the floor started to give way, but as the last occupants he found fled he turned to leave the building through the window.

Just as he was about to leap out onto the pavement, something stopped him. It was a sound, only barely audible over the roar of the fire. At first he couldn't tell what it was, but as he focused on it, it became clearer. His eyes, blurry though they were, widened.

It was the cry of a child, not much more than a year old from the sound of it. He turned back down the burning hallway and tried to determine where it was coming from. Eventually, he focused in on the sound, pinpointing it to a room he'd thought he cleared.

He dashed back down the hallway, only barely skirting over the gaps in the now decrepit floor. When he got to the door, he wasted no time. Instantly he Cinder Missiled the door and burst inside. He only barely managed to make out his surroundings, the smoke hampering his already blurry vision.

What he saw might have made him throw up, were it not for the massive amount of adrenaline in his system. The child was indeed there, off to the side in a crib, still very much alive. The father was not so lucky. Apparently a roof joist had fallen in the initial lightning strike, and the man had not been able to dodge it fast enough. He'd been impaled, straight through the heart.

While he gathered up the crying child, a young girl still crying for her daddy, Delsin spared only a moment to mourn the man. He knew what the child in his arms was feeling. He'd felt the same when his parents had died. After the moment passed, Delsin ran out of the room as fast as he could.

He couldn't dash anymore. Not because his powers weren't working, but because if he did, he couldn't bring the girl with him, dropping her through his would-be immaterial arms. As he got back to the second floor, debris blocked his descent. He knew his options were limited, and his time was running out. The floor above him, and beneath his feet was almost completely gone, and the rain wasn't even making a dent in the flames.

He was about to start firing off Cinder Missiles to make a path for himself, but the smoke inhalation was catching up with him. His Conduit healing could only do so much, and his consciousness was starting to fade.

Fortunately, he had made a few friends that day.

Delsin could recognize the sound of a spinning minigun anywhere, having faced more than a few in his time. The high speed rounds tore through the wall to his right from him, leaving a giant hole. Barely awake, he stumbled over to it.

Below him on the street were several people, including the residents of the apartment building as well as Velvet and Coco, who he saw was the source of the minigun fire. Gathering his the last of his fleeting consciousness, he switched to his Neon power, and flung himself from the building. As he was falling, he threw a Stasis Bubble just below them, and to be safe, turned his back to face the ground, making sure to keep the girl safe.

He passed out before he hit the ground.

 **0**

He woke up ten minutes later, but the next hour passed in a blur. His trick with the Stasis Bubble had succeeded, as evidenced that the child in his arms was still alive, though only barely. Before too long, the Fire Department arrived, and the girl in his arms was taken by the paramedics. Her mother rode in the ambulance with her, though she cried the whole way.

As the girl was taken from him, he rose, still hazy. Coco and Velvet supported him, and he managed to stand successfully. Then he began to drain the water out of the air and assist the Fire Fighters by blasting what was left of the fire. He wasn't a whole lot of help, seeing as he couldn't maintain a steady stream, but with a near endless supply of water, he managed to help a fair amount.

When the fire was out, he did his best to use his powers to heal the wounded. All the while, the building's occupants, as well as Velvet and Coco, looked at him in awe. He thought nothing of it at the time, but in recollection he would think he was probably overdoing it. The people around him had never seen powers like his before.

After a while, the rain stopped, and the only wounded people left were the ones beyond his ability to heal, and as such had been taken to a hospital. When all of the work was done, Delsin sat down against the burned out wall of the building. He drained the water out of his clothes and all around him. As the last of the adrenaline in his system burned out, his haze lifted.

With a smirk he looked back over the people he had saved. Slowly, the ambulances came, or cars drove off, and all of them went to the hospital for emergency evaluations or in search of a place to spend the night.

Velvet walked over to him.

"You really are amazing," she said.

"Can't help that, it's just who I am," he said smugly.

Velvet laughed. After a moment, he joined in.

"I have to ask, how do you do that? Are you infused with Dust or something?" Velvet asked, quelling her laughter.

"Something like that, I guess," he replied, looking up to the sky.

"Hm?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell it to you later."

"Ok."

For a moment, they just sat there, saying nothing. Soon, Coco approached, carrying his shopping bags with the help of one of the remaining residents. After a casual thank you and a wave, the resident left. Once he was gone, Delsin stood up.

"Ready to go?" Coco asked.

"Nope. I've got one thing left to do," he said with a smile.

"What?"

"I need to indulge an old habit."

The two girls looked at each other confused as Delsin pulled out three cans of spray-paint from his bag, one white, one black, and one blue. Their confusion grew as he shook them, but still they watched. He removed the tops of the cans, and began his work, spraying on one of the clean sections of building left. Over the next several minutes, his design took shape, and when he was done, he took a step back.

"A man, a plan, and an aerosol can," he said to himself.

"What is it?" Coco asked.

"My mark," Delsin said.

As the three looked at the image of two hands holding a city, Delsin smiled.

The Banner Man was back in business.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Well that was intense. And also a great deal of fun to write. As always if you have any questions about this fic don't hesitate to ask, and don't forget to review, the positive feedback really helps me get motivated to write this.**

 **Also, just checked the traffic report on this again. Almost 1300 views in a mere two weeks! It may be comparably trivial to some, but hey, I think it's awesome.**

 **Anyway, thanks again for your support, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**0**

 **Chapter Six: Boost**

 **0**

After the fire, Delsin went back into his old habits. Whenever he was off from classes, he was either with his friends or in Vale, doing his best to help people. He did a pretty good job too. In fact, in the five days since he started, the crime rate in Vale dropped by a quarter percent. Not necessarily a big drop, but noticeable nonetheless.

The drop might have been higher, if it weren't for a sudden spike in misdemeanor vandalism. At the scene of every crime he stopped, Delsin left behind the same symbol he sprayed on the remains of the burned building. Tales of the mysterious Banner Man quickly spread, though Delsin was dumbfounded as to how the same horrible nickname showed up here.

By the morning of his seventh day at Beacon, things were going pretty well for Delsin. After getting breakfast with his friends, he was on his way to Dr. Oobleck's history class when he got a message from Ozpin.

 _ **"Mr. Rowe, could you come to my office for a moment?"**_ the message read.

 _ **"Look I don't know what you heard, but I did not blow up that vending machine. It was like that when I got there,"**_ he replied.

It was about a minute before he got a response.

 _ **"What?"**_

 _ **"Is that not what you were talking about?"**_

 _ **"It is now."**_

 __Delsin laughed nervously to himself.

 _ **"I'll be right there."**_

 _ **"Good. Bring your team as well. It is time they knew about you."**_

 _ **"Ok."**_

Delsin put his scroll in his pocket with a sigh.

"Something wrong?" Alex asked.

"Nah, I just gotta go do a thing with Oz," Delsin replied, seeming downtrodden.

"Ouch. Is it about that thing with the vending machine?" Yang asked.

"I told you, it was like that when I got there!" Delsin exclaimed.

"Suuuuure," Yang drawled.

"It was! Besides, I know it's not. He wants me to bring all of you guys with me."

"Really? Why?" Ruby asked.

"Guess we'll find out when we get there," he told them

"Alright then, let's go," Yang said.

So, the group, comprised of Alex, Delsin, and Team RWBY, walked straight past the classroom door and toward the elevator. Unfortunately, Professor Oobleck was watching them.

"Students! Where are you going!?" he shouted in his usual rushed manner.

"Oh no! Run!" Ruby shouted gleefully.

The redhead took off, a burst of rose petals trailing behind her.

All of them smiled, immediately getting her intent. Delsin switched to his Neon, and Alex just sped off, more rose petals falling behind him. Weiss was initially hesitant to skip class, but as even Yang and Blake took off, she caved. She used her Glyphs to propel herself forward, and all of them sort of crashed into the open elevator one by one.

Oobleck wasn't having any of it and just as quickly gave chase. Though he was fast, Alex threw out Black Glyph traps to try and stop him, but due to his Glyphs lack of power, they only managed to slow his pursuit. The doors began to close, but Oobleck had almost caught them. Delsin however, had other plans.

As they closed, Delsin softly lobbed a Stasis Bubble grenade. As luck would have it, his timing was perfect. Just as Oobleck got to the door, the bomb went off and he began to float helplessly in the air as the Neon surrounded him. All of the assembled students giggled. Except for Weiss the resident buzzkill of course.

"See you later teach," Delsin said, waving sarcastically.

"Mr. Rowe let me down this instant!" Oobleck yelled.

"What's that?" Yang said, cupping her ear and feigning deafness, "We can't hear you, this elevator is really loud!"

As Oobleck ranted on, the doors closed and the utterly silent elevator began its ascent to the top of Beacon Tower. The students stood up and kept laughing.

"Was that really necessary?" Weiss asked.

"Oh yeah," Ruby said, trying to stifle her laughter long enough to utter a coherent thought.

"Yup!" Yang said with a smile.

"It was kind of funny," Blake admitted.

"Unbelievable," Weiss complained.

"Oh get over yourself Ice Queen," Alex moaned.

"Don't call me that!"

Her tone did nothing but strike up another bout of laughter as the six of them rose to the top.

 **0**

When they reached Ozpin's office, all of them poured out of the elevator. Clearly it wasn't made for so many occupants. As they pulled themselves to their feet, they heard something over all of their grumbling. Ozpin was on video chat with a very angry Professor Oobleck. They could only barely hear the professor since the room was so big, but it was obvious what they were talking about.

When Oz saw them, he quickly ended the conversation, cutting off Oobleck in the middle of his ranting. As he ended the call, he sighed.

"Was that really necessary Mr. Rowe?" he asked.

Delsin smiled.

"Absolutely," he said.

Ozpin sighed again.

"I have half a mind to give all of you detention," he said, his head hanging, "But we have more important things to discuss."

He reached below his desk and pulled out a medium sized steel briefcase.

"Are you ready?" the older man asked.

"Yeah. Alex knows already, and you were right. The rest of them need to know," Delsin replied stoically.

"Whoa there, should we give you guys need a minute alone or something?" Yang asked playfully.

Delsin turned to look at her, his expression somber and serious. Yang looked right at him, and just for a moment, the fire within her dimmed. In that moment, it was clear to all those who were present: this was no time for jokes.

"Ok. How do we begin?" Ozpin asked.

"I'll talk first. Using the Core will make me pass out for a couple hours," Delsin replied.

Ruby stepped up, a worried look on her face.

"Delsin, what's wrong? You're starting to scare me," she said.

Delsin took one of the chairs from Ozpin's desk and sat down, turning it to face them.

"Ruby, do you remember what I told you about my home?" he asked.

"Yeah, you said it was far away," she said warily.

"Yeah. Well, that's not the whole truth. There's more," he sighed.

"Like what?" Yang asked.

"Well, when I said I was from far away, I didn't mean Vale," he said.

He paused for a moment, prepping himself for what came next.

"I meant, I'm not from Remnant."

Questioning looks sprang up on Team RWBY's faces.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

Delsin stood up and flexed his Neon power just a tiny amount on his fingertips. Not enough to do anything major, but enough to make them shine a bit.

"You see this power here? This light?" he asked.

"Yeah," Yang said.

He closed his hand, shutting off the light.

"That power has absolutely nothing to do with my Aura," he told them.

More confusion was all that followed his statement.

"I'll have to get back to that though," he said as he began to pace around the office.

"Honestly, my world isn't that much different from yours. We've got people who live in homes, have jobs, make money, buy food, drive around in cars, and pretty much everything else. We have crime and discrimination too though, so it's not exactly a whole lot better either. There are a few differences I've picked up on though."

"Like what?" Blake asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Before he answered, Delsin took a moment to survey the room. The confusion seemed to have died down a bit by now, replaced by curiosity and skepticism. Delsin was happy with that and continued.

"Well, for starters, we don't have Dust. Well, I mean we have dust, but not like this magic exploding crystal stuff."

"Yeah right. How else do you run those cars you mentioned, huh?" Weiss asked.

"Well princess, we use fossil fuels. On my world, millions of years ago there were several species of giant reptiles. We called them Dinosaurs. And after they died out, millions of years passed and the bones sort of melted into an explosive liquid fuel. Which is why we call them _Fossil_ fuels."

Weiss visibly wilted a bit with his quick response, not expecting him to get the better of the exchange.

"Anyway, another thing is, we don't have Faunus," Delsin continued.

"What?!" Blake nearly shouted.

When she realized her tone, she quickly covered her mouth and recomposed herself, though a bit of rage was still visible on her face. Delsin quickly realized the conclusion she'd drawn and quickly corrected himself.

"What I mean is," Delsin began again, not really wanting to make the super ninja girl angry at him, "was that we never had Faunus in the first place. They never emerged as a species."

Blake cooled a little bit at this, and Delsin let out a sigh of relief. Then he composed himself for the final stretch, and the most important part of the story. Conduits.

"Finally, we don't have Aura. I mean we have souls and whatever, but Aura? Nope."

"But how do you fight Grimm without Aura?" Ruby asked.

"Grimm? Don't have them either."

This quieted them. To them Grimm were a fact of life, so ingrained in their very being that they couldn't even imagine a world without them. And here was Delsin telling them that it was real. That somewhere out there, there was a place with out the black creatures of hate and despair.

They stood there for a moment, trying to regain their bearings, until someone spoke up. True to her nature, Yang was the first to break the silence.

"Wait. If you don't have Aura, how do you have powers?" she asked.

Delsin took a deep breath.

"Because I am a Conduit," he told them.

"What's that?" Blake asked.

"Conduits are people who can manipulate certain unique forms of matter, like me."

"Wait, so there were other people with powers like yours?" she pressed.

"Yeah. I mean, not exactly like mine, but yeah."

"Wow. I bet people really looked up to you guys then huh?" Ruby said smiling.

"Actually, no. Not even remotely. Regular humans treated us as bad as humans here treat Faunus, if not worse. People like me were demonized and locked up or just plain murdered, just because of what we were. Hell, we weren't even Conduits to them, we were Bio-Terrorists. And most people didn't even care how bad or inhumane it was."

"Really?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. Our country's government even made a whole department for 'dealing with the Bio-Terrorist threat.' I mean, until I completely obliterated the entire thing, showed the people the lies they were being fed and basically turned the whole thing on its head inside a week."

"Wait, what?" Weiss asked.

"Don't worry about it. That last part really doesn't matter. At least, it'll never affect you guys anyway."

"So what's your power Delsin?" Ruby asked.

"Well actually, I have five," he started, "My power lets me absorb the powers of any Conduit I touch, so I ended up with Smoke, Neon, Video, Concrete, and Water. It's actually really cool."

"Sounds like it," Yang said, "You'd give that Banner Man guy a run for his money."

"Heh heh," Delsin laughed nervously, "Right, run for his money."

"Who's the Banner Man?" Blake asked.

"A disgraceful vigilante who sees fit to vandalize buildings that's who," Weiss said.

"Hey, I'm no vandal! I'm an artist!" Delsin shot back on reflex.

The four of them went quiet, and then Delsin realized what he'd said and sighed.

"It's you?!" Weiss shouted.

Delsin looked at his feet and said nothing.

"OMG it _is_ you!" Yang shouted, "You're the Banner Man!"

Delsin's head shot up at that.

"Could you please not call me that?! Gah, I hate that nickname," he responded angrily.

For a moment, the four of them were silent. Then they all burst out laughing, even Weiss.

The questioning continued on for a while after that. Delsin answered as best he could, but in reality he didn't know a lot more than he'd already said. After a half an hour long interrogation, they finally ran out of questions. Well, almost.

"So now that that's out of the way, why are you here exactly?" Weiss asked.

"Well, I mean I don't know why I'm here, I just kind of woke up here-"

"No, I mean _here_. In this office."

"Ooooh. I'm here to get new powers," he replied.

He walked over to the table and opened the case. The bright purple glow of the Blast Core fell upon the room.

"This, ladies and gentleman, is a Blast Core. Using one can increase a Conduit's powers super fast," he exclaimed.

"Cool!" Ruby said.

"Yeah, it is."

He picked up the rock and held it in his hands. It was a strange feeling. The strange thing pulsed in his hands, almost as if he were holding a beating heart. He was uncertain what to expect when the core amplified him. Would it just boost one power? Maybe it would boost all of them. He'd never used an actual Blast Core before.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he got, but honestly he hoped for the second. It even made a bit of sense. For Core Relays he'd used his powers to drain them, and so they flowed into his body through his active power. For this one, it might just flow through his whole system. He also had no idea how, or even _if_ , his Aura would affect the process.

One other thing was its size. The Core in his hands was bigger than he'd thought when he'd seen the photo. It was easily twice as big as normal Cores. No matter which way it affected him, Delsin knew it would be an absolutely huge boost, but just to be safe, he switched to his Concrete.

"Are you ready?" Ozpin asked.

"Just a second," he said.

He turned around to look at his friends.

"You guys may want to take a step back," he told them.

As they stepped away, he took a deep breath.

"I'm ready. Fire away."

Ozpin pulled out a small lightning crystal and placed it on the end of his cane. Much like a wizard staff, he raised it and pointed it at the Blast Core.

"How much of a current does it need?" he asked.

"Not a lot," Delsin replied, "Maybe enough to run a light bulb."

"All right."

Ozpin flexed his Aura and sent it to the crystal. From the tip of his cane, a small jolt of electricity, no bigger than a quarter, leapt. Delsin tensed as it flew to him. As the jolt collided with the rock in his hands, Delsin could feel it start.

The purple glow of the Blast Core enveloped him. The sheer force of the oversized Core raised him up and indiscriminate power rolled off him, cracking the floor beneath his feet and many of the windows. The others in the room couldn't even look straight at him as it happened, the light was just too bright.

Delsin himself was in inordinate amounts of pain. As the energy of the Core flowed into him, he felt like his entire nervous system was melting. He could feel the energy pulsing within him barely, but he couldn't really form a coherent thought, much less make sense of sensory input.

The only thing clear to him were the visions. In his head, much like when he absorbed Core Relays, he saw how his powers were growing. He saw a shield of Neon, a wall of Concrete, and several other new developments.

When it was done, the light from the Core cut out abruptly. Delsin fell to the ground in the center of a series of spiraling cracks in the floor. Ruby raced over to see if he was ok since it didn't seem like he was breathing. As she reached him, she found he was just unconscious and let out a sigh of relief.

"He's ok!" she said.

Everyone else let out a sigh as well. Ozpin cleared his throat.

"Perhaps you should all return to your room. You are going to need time to process all of the information you were just given," the professor told them.

"Thank you, but we have classes," Weiss replied.

"Not anymore. I'll explain to your teachers, you have the rest of the day off."

Normally they would have been ecstatic to hear that, but after everything they had heard today, Ozpin was right. They needed time to digest that new information. So, with varying degree's of concern, they all turned to leave.

As they were about to get on the elevator, Ozpin called to them.

"Ladies, one last thing," he said.

The four turned to look back at him.

"While I understand how difficult this is, I must ask you not to reveal the truth about Delsin to anyone just yet. He may be your friend, but that is not your secret to reveal. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Ruby said.

With that, the four of them left, leaving Alex and Ozpin alone with an unconscious Delsin.

"Are you alright?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, I got past this almost as soon as he told me about it. I actually find it pretty cool," Alex replied.

"Well then. You have the rest of the day of as well, enjoy it."

Alex smiled.

"Will do Professor," he said, walking to one of the broken windows.

Much to Ozpin's dismay, Alex jumped out the window. Ozpin rushed over to try and help, and just as he got there, Alex unfurled his wings and pulled out of his dive. Ozpin smiled and went back to his desk. When he sat down, he pulled out his Scroll.

"Glynda, could you come here a moment? I need you to fix something."

 **0**

After leaving Ozpin's office, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang had each gone to process the information they'd just learned. Weiss went to the library to study, hoping to distract herself. Blake joined her, wanting to dive deep into the comfort of a book. Ruby went to their room, and began giving Crescent Rose a tune-up, actually having gotten over the whole thing in record time.

However, Yang wasn't much for escapism, nor was she one for staying indoors if she could help it. So instead, she went for a walk. She didn't go too far. At least, she never left the campus, but it was more than big enough to wander in.

She soon came to a statue of a Huntress and Huntsman standing on a cliff overlooking a Grimm. She looked at it and smiled, and began mulling over all of the new information. In truth, she thought it was awesome. A person from another world? It was like an adventure straight out of one of Ruby's science fiction books, and one she definitely wanted to be a part of.

By chance, she looked up in time to see Alex flying off overhead. She laughed to herself a bit at the sight of him. He was crushing on her hard, and though he was surprisingly good at hiding it, Yang knew. And, she had to admit, he was cute in that sort of brawny nerd way. Plus he made an excellent sparring partner.

Little did she know, Alex had seen her too. He'd been going nowhere in particular, so he decided to circle back. He gently turned and glided down to the statue.

Yang didn't notice him until he touched down.

"Sup." he said.

"Oh, hey," she said, utterly unfazed by his sudden appearance.

He walked up next to her, and they both stared at the statue. After a moment, he turned to her.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Um...?" she asked, confused.

"I meant about Delsin. Are you ok?" he clarified.

"Ooooh. Yeah, I'm fine with it. It's actually pretty cool."

"I know right?"

"Yeah."

"I mean, it's weird, but it's still really cool."

"Says the guy with wings," Yang said.

Alex laughed at that. Maybe a little more than normal, but still.

"You're not wrong," he said as his laughter stopped.

"So what's it like?" Yang asked.

"What's what like?"

"Flying."

"Oh," he said.

Alex had to stop for a moment to think about that. Having lived with wings his whole life, he'd never actually thought about it before. For him, flying was as natural as breathing. He wasn't sure he _could_ describe it. Then he smiled as an idea formed in his head.

"I can show you," he offered.

Yang perked up a lot at that.

"How?" she asked.

"Do you want to find out?"

Yang groaned sarcastically and nodded.

"Ok. One second."

Alex fished around in his pocket for a Fire Crystal. When he found one, he ate it and his hair turned to its usual shade of red. He was gonna need the strength for what he had planned.

"Now what?" Yang asked.

Alex turned around and squatted.

"Climb on," he said with a smile.

Surprisingly hesitantly, Yang climbed onto his back piggyback style.

"Hold on tight!" he said, a white Glyph opening at his feet.

With a jump, the Glyph propelled him upwards, and he opened his wings. The two of them careened into the sky, Yang clinging to him, but still with her eyes open as she smiled.

After he rose a significant amount, he leveled off, allowing Yang to sit upright.

"This is awesome!" she yelled, the wind dulling her voice.

Alex smiled and looked over his shoulder at her.

"You want me to turn up the power?!" he shouted back.

Yang nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright then, here we go!" he yelled.

And with that, they burst off into the open sky.

 **0**

About an hour after he first passed out, Delsin woke up, his head pounding. He'd read some of the reports of Blast Core aftereffects, but this was his first time experiencing them, and they were not pleasant.

He opened his eyes to find himself still in the now newly repaired office of Professor Ozpin. He was seated in a chair, and Ozpin and Glynda were watching him as he woke.

"You're awake," Ozpin said.

"Yeah, but I feel like I have the world's worst hangover," Delsin groaned.

Ozpin smirked.

"Well you certainly did a number on my office. Glynda only just finished fixing it."

"Sorry."

"No need to apologize Mr. Rowe," Glynda said, uncharacteristically kind.

"Thanks," he replied, the pain in his head lessening a bit.

As his head started to clear, he looked around the room. He'd seen flashes of what he'd been doing to the office through the Core fluctuations, and he was amazed by the fact that there was absolutely no structural damage anywhere. In fact, the whole room looked better than it did before. Apparently Glynda was an excellent housekeeper.

"So, how do you feel Mr. Rowe?" Ozpin asked.

"Hm?"

"The Blast Core, your powers, how do you feel?"

"Oh. Gimme a second to check."

Delsin stood up and tested his powers. He'd created a system for it, much like calisthenics. He flexed each power in his repertoire individually and based his strength on how much of each power he could generate without using his reserves. This time, he was happy to see he'd gotten very lucky.

"Oh yeah," he cheered.

"What is it?" Ozpin asked.

"Powered up across the board! All five of my powers got boosted!"

Ozpin raised his eyebrows.

"Really? That is good news. How exactly have they developed?"

"I dunno. I'd have to test 'em out."

Ozpin pulled up his Scroll and smirked.

"That can be arranged."

 **0**

As the Fire Crystal in his system started to die down, Alex came in for a landing. Yang hopped off his back enthusiastically, and admittedly he was surprised she hadn't thrown up. He'd never given someone a ride before, but he imagined that was a distinct possibility.

"That. Was. Awesome!" she shouted.

"I'm glad you had fun," Alex replied, desperately trying to hide his blushing face.

Yang carried on a bit about how awesome flying was, and Alex was more than happy to let her. By the time she did, it was time for lunch. The two of them walked to the cafeteria in conversation to find Delsin and the rest of Team RWBY already waiting for them. What struck them as odd was the fact that Ruby was bouncing giddily.

When she saw them, Ruby raced over, rose petals fluttering behind her.

"Sis guess what!" Ruby cried joyfully, still bouncing.

"Ruby, calm down. What's up?" Yang asked.

"We're going on a mission!" she almost screamed.

"Wait what? I thought students couldn't do Hntsman work." Alex asked.

"Ozpin made an exception! We're headed out to deal with the Grimm in a village down south!"

"Awesome!" Yang said.

While he was definitely excited to have a mission so early in his training, Alex wondered why Ozpin made the exception in the first place. Then an idea came to him, and he looked over by the lunch table where his friends were and saw Delsin. He seemed happy, and much more full of energy, and with a quick exchange of glances he got it.

This wasn't a training mission.

It was a test mission.

Alex was conflicted over that, but after a minute, he decided he'd worry about it later, and went to have lunch with his friends.

 **CHAPTER END**


	7. Chapter 7

**0**

 **Chapter 7: A Rather Grimm Situation (Part One)**

 **0**

They deployed the next morning. According to the mission briefing they received when they boarded the Bullhead, they were being sent to a relatively small village south of the main Kingdom called Rintah. Their guide and chaperon, a veteran Huntress by the name of Ilyanna Petrarcho, would be meeting them there.

Rintah had apparently been dealing with an uncharacteristically high influx of Grimm, over quintuple what they were used to. Ilyana went there when the locals circulated the "help needed" job posting through the CCTS, though it seemed she was the only one who responded and the job was much to big for one Huntress or Huntsman. They were being sent as reinforcements when Ozpin read the posting.

Of course, only Alex and Weiss actually knew any of that. The others didn't even bother to read it. They were to busy messing around with Delsin's new party tricks. He was using his Neon powers to put on a laser light show with some kind of rave music from his world playing, and the rest of them were enjoying it. When Yang got up and started dancing, he gave up trying to concentrate on anything else.

Still, it was a rather long ride. Rintah was a ways away, and it would be a few hours until they got there. Delsin was having fun playing with his new levels of power. Previously, he couldn't have managed a setup like this without draining himself, but the Blast Core he'd absorbed had boosted his reserves by a moderately impressive amount. He still couldn't fire off Bolts without draining, but a fancy light show was cake.

To be honest, he really couldn't wait to find out what these new powers were. The old feeling of getting that new power, growing what you could do by just one more step, was a feeling he'd almost forgotten. He hadn't felt it in a while, not since he'd developed his Water power.

Another slightly less interesting development, was that of his music library. He'd managed to move the whole thing from his old mp3 player onto his Scroll so that no matter what, he never lost it. New life aside, he was glad to have any parts of his old life he could hang on to.

After a two hour flight, they arrived in Rintah. It was a moderately sized farming village, plenty of houses and large fields of crops. They had a perimeter wall around the whole town, farms and all, like most villages. On most days, it would have been a rather picturesque image of commerce and life. Today was not one of those days.

While there were no Grimm there now, the effects of an increased Grimm presence were obvious. The people were on edge and some hadn't even left their homes, despite it being perfect weather in the middle of a harvest season. Most of the market stalls were empty, and the amount of people in the streets was very low.

When they landed, all six of them got off the Bullhead. When they did, they found a woman there waiting for them.

She wore a deep blue hooded cloak trimmed in gold along the bottom around her shoulders, though the hood was down. Under that she wore a light blue t-shirt and dark blue leather pants with a black belt.. She also had on calf length leather boots with ½ inch heels. The blue ensemble went surprisingly well with her cyan hair and bright gold eyes.

Next to her was what appeared to be her weapon. It was a six foot long copper colored metal staff topped with a spherical Fire Dust crystal about the size of a tennis ball that was held there by a four barred thin spherical cage.

This, was Ilyanna Petrarcho, professional Huntress. She was going to be their leader on this mission.

When she saw them, she approached.

"You guys from Beacon," she asked.

"Yep! We're here to help," Ruby said.

"Like your spirit kid," Ilyanna said with a smile, "C'mon, I'll show you to where we're working out of."

She led them to a small inn on the outer edge of the wall, introducing herself along the way. When Delsin saw the look on her face, he thought she might explode from the excitement of working with a professional Huntress.

When they reached the inn, they went to a table and Ilyanna sat down. She motioned for them to join her.

"So, what's your deal," she asked them all.

"What?" Delsin asked, a bit taken aback.

"Well, you guys are first year students going on a mission, a fact which is itself very strange. Add to that the fact that this mission involves a concentration of Grimm higher than what most students will ever see, you guys must be something special, a conclusion supported by the fact that there are _six_ of you as opposed to four. So I ask again. What's your deal?" she pressed.

"Didn't Ozpin explain it to you?" Yang asked.

"He sent me files on six kids I'm supposed to baby sit. Would you have read it?" she asked lazily.

"Yes," Weiss replied indignantly.

Ilyanna looked right at her, then turned away with a rueful sigh.

"Guess I found the buzzkill of the group. Good to know," she said.

Delsin cleared his throat.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

Ilyanna thought about that for a moment, then shrugged.

"Guess not," she said, "Go ahead and get some lunch, on me. We move out in an hour."

With that, she rose from the table and walked off, placing a Lien card on the table.

 **0**

After twenty minutes, Delsin had finished his food and went to take a walk.

As he traversed the town, the sight of how the people moved in fear reminded him of something. Here the people looked just as downtrodden as the people in Seattle looked when the DUP was in control of the city.

Eventually he found himself in a mostly abandoned market plaza. A quick look revealed only a handful of storefronts still operating, maybe six out of all twenty-two. The pathetic state of the lot left him feeling sad. He could almost feel the despair in the air.

And so, having seen all of that, he renewed his resolve. He clenched his brother's badge in his hand and steeled himself to jump back in the fray. This was his fight now. He would protect these people from the monsters around them.

With that thought in mind, he made his way back to the inn.

 **0**

When Delsin arrived at the inn, he found that the already small crowd of people there earlier had fallen to just above empty. He quickly saw Ilyanna along with the rest of the team seated around one of the tables. On said table was a map of the village and the surrounding area.

He quickly approached and as he sat down he asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, we were waiting on you Mr. Conduit," Ilyanna said.

"You read the file," he replied.

"Yeah. Interesting read."

"I bet."

"All right, let's get down to business," Ilyanna said.

She cleared the table of plates and such, revealing the whole map. Her fun loving personality vanished in an instant, replaced by Ilyanna the professional Huntsman.

"The increased Grimm activity here has been heaviest on the northwest section of the wall, here," she began, pointing at the map.

Continuing, she stood up.

"This leads me to believe the source of the commotion is coming from somewhere in this area. Now, I've done some preliminary scouting there over the last couple days. Aside from some dense forests, the only thing there is a cave stretching into the cliffside about 5 miles north-northwest of here. It's a very wide open cave, and it appears to go on for a while. From what I observed, the Grimm seem to be congregating deep within the cave," she explained.

"Seem to be?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. For whatever reason, these Grimm don't seem to be good with sunlight. Further evidence of this is that all of the attacks over the last several days have only ever occurred at night. Now, that's not unusual, Grimm are more active at night, but they still act during the day. These have never even been seen outside of low light conditions. As such, it's been difficult to find fresh traces of their movements, including their whereabouts," she continued.

She turned to face Alex.

"You're a Faunus aren't you? How's your night vision?" she asked.

Alex scratched the back of his head as he replied.

"Not that great. My people have raptor vision as opposed to night vision. My hearing's not much better than a human's either," he said.

Ilyanna sighed.

"Well, guess it's good to know beforehand at least. Figured I'd ask, since it wasn't in the file. Either way, nightfall's in a little less than three hours. We need to be at the cave before then for my plan to work."

"What is the plan?" Yang asked.

"Using the mouth of the cave as a choke point, we're going to use our combined strength to drive them back into the cave. Then we follow them in and destroy them, and whatever is causing the disturbance here. Thus, we'll solve both of our problems at once," she said cheerily.

Ruby had been glued to he since the moment she'd started talking, still in mild awe at her presence, but when Ilyanna finished explaining her plan, she felt a question come to mind and couldn't help but ask it.

"Wait, not that I'm like doubting you or anything, but you're a Huntress. Couldn't you do this on your own? Why do you need us?" Ruby asked.

Ilyanna turned to look at her, a small smile still on her face.

"Sweetie, I appreciate that you think I'm so awesome, I really do. But honestly? There's way too many of them and way too much ground to hold for just one person. Any Huntsman or Huntress would have the same problem. No matter how skilled you are, some jobs are to big to handle alone."

Ruby nodded as Ilyanna turned back to face the group.

"Alright. Get geared up, we move out in ten minutes. Word of advice? Go to the bathroom now," she said, walking to the door.

After a second, Ruby managed to regain her composure.

"You heard her gang, let's get going," she said cheerily.

 **0**

Ten minutes later they all met up at the northernmost gate to the town. Ilyanna was waiting for them, her staff in her hand.

"You guys ready?" she asked.

"Yep," Delsin said.

The others nodded, or otherwise voiced their agreement.

"Alright, let's go. It's a five mile hike in rough terrain, so be careful, but try and keep up."

With that, she led them away.

Soon after, they entered the forest, and quickly discovered what Ilyanna meant by rough terrain. Half a mile into the forest, the tree concentration doubled, making it much harder to see, to say nothing of the tree roots. Ilyanna wasn't wrong to make them move out so quickly. By the time half an hour went by, they'd only gone one mile.

Still they pressed on. When the sun started to set Ilyanna turned to Delsin.

"Conduit guy, you got any light on you?" she asked in what she guessed was his general direction. She couldn't really see him.

A moment later a bright purple light filled the area. She looked around to find Delsin with his arm raised and some of his Neon circling his hand.

"You do know my name is Delsin, right?" he asked.

"Yep."

"Why do you call me **'** Conduit guy? **'** "

"Because I can. Take the lead."

Delsin moved to the front of the group and they kept going.

After two hours total, they had to stop.

"Ms. Petrarcho?" Blake called.

"Two things. One, call me Ilyanna. Two, yes?"

"Can we rest for a minute?" she asked.

Ilyanna checked the map on her Scroll, as well as the time remaining till sundown.

"Anyone else need a break?" Ilyanna asked.

"I do," Delsin replied, "Making enough light to see by is tough."

Ilyanna sighed.

"Yeah, we'll take five minutes to rest up. Don't worry though, we're close. Only a little more than a mile to go."

At that very moment, all of them sank down. Apparently they were a lot more tired than they let on. When Delsin's light died, Ruby turned on her Scroll's flashlight and placed it on the ground to illuminate the immediate area. Alex was the only one still standing.

"I'll scout ahead. I can get a better view from the sky," he said.

"Ok, but be careful. Some of these Grimm could be airborne," Ilyanna replied.

"Will do."

With that he used Weiss's Glyphs to climb one of the trees. While he hated her guts, Alex had to admit, Weiss's Semblance was very versatile. When he reached the top, he used another Glyph to propel himself into the air and opened his wings.

Delsin and the rest of them watched as he flew off.

"Ok, I gotta admit. That's pretty cool," Ilyanna commented.

"Yeah it's fun," Yang replied.

"How would you know?" Weiss asked pointedly.

Yang smiled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she said slyly.

Ilyanna giggled.

"You and the birdbrain, huh?" she asked, smiling.

"Not right now, but maybe," Yang replied.

Weiss and Ruby blushed when they realized what they meant, and Blake smiled.

"Oh my god, if I wasn't the main light source of this party I'd be joining him at the cave," Delsin interrupted, his face in his free hand.

"Oh what's wrong, can't handle a few jokes about your partner?" Ilyanna asked.

The conversation was interrupted when Delsin got a call on his Scroll.

"Saved by the bell," he said quietly.

He answered the phone.

"Yo?"

"Delsin?"

"Alex? What's up?"

"Put me on speaker, I got news."

Delsin fumbled for a second to find the right button, but he pressed it and held it out between them all.

"What'cha got Alex?" Ilyanna asked.

"You were right when you said these Grimm were different. Found a couple in the dark toward the mouth of the cave. I killed them, but when I dragged them into the light, they looked weird. I mean, on the surface they look like Beowolves but the have these weird additions to the normal form."

"Weird how?" Ruby asked.

"Here, I'll send a photo. For whatever reason the corpses haven't started evaporating."

On the other end of the line, they heard a shutter snap.

"Ok, sending it now. Let me know when you get it."

After a moment it popped up on the screen. Ilyanna opened it.

"You're right, it is weird," she said.

She turned the Scroll to face the rest of them. When Delsin saw it, he took a step back in a mix of fear and shock. The image was of a Beowolf, but as Alex had said, it was mutated. The creature had a second set of arms, the new ones coated in a single sword-like protrusion from the elbow downward as well as four mandibles on its mouth. It also had foot long bone spikes jutting out of its back along its spine. All of that, combined with the addition of a faded sickly green-gray color traced along its bone mask, drew Delsin to his conclusion.

"What's wrong," Ruby asked tensely, "You seen that before?"

Delsin swallowed.

"Yeah," he started, his voice shaking, "In the Conduit files I read. Back on _my world._ "

"What?" Ilyanna asked forcefully.

"Seven years ago on my world there was a Conduit named Joseph Bertrand III. His Conduit power let him manipulate chemical energy. With his power he started to mutate people. He forced them to turn into these monsters he called **'** The Corrupted. **'** They were forcefully created faux Conduits that had body parts just like the ones in that picture."

"Wait, so the disturbance causing increased Grimm could be from your world?" Alex asked.

"I don't know, but crap from my world seems to be popping up more and more here," he managed, his composure returning.

"Either way, that doesn't change what we have to do. Alex, are there any more near the mouth of the cave?" Ilyanna asked.

"No, but since the sun's going down in less than an hour, that won't be the case for very long. You guys need to get here fast."

"Ok. Be there in a bit."

With that Ilyanna ended the call and handed Delsin back his scroll.

"Stand up people, break's over. We gotta move," Ilyanna said.

Delsin stood up first and turned in the direction of the cave.

"I'll make a path. Hopefully the villagers won't mind."

"How are you going to make a path in the middle of the forest?" Blake asked.

Delsin moved his hand to his wrist and switched to his Video power.

"Like this," he replied.

He extended both arms, and with a smirk he manifested not one but _two_ Digital Longswords, one in each hand. With a hard swing he sliced through one of the trees in their path.

"Ok, I guess that works. Just don't go overboard with it," Ilyanna said.

"I'll help!" Ruby exclaimed, readying Crescent Rose.

"Not yet Ruby. I'm trying no to make to wide a path, so if you could just swap out with me in a few minutes, that would be awesome," Delsin told her.

"Ok," she replied, her cheer only slightly diminished.

With that, Delsin began to slice through the trees. Every couple minutes he and Ruby swapped places, and after twenty minutes they reached an expansive clearing in front of the cave.

"Alex, where are you?" Delsin called.

At that moment, the Bird Faunus dropped in between them all, wings out just enough to keep him from hurting himself.

"You called?" he said nonchalantly.

Ilyanna rolled her eyes and checked her Scroll.

"Ok, rest up. We've got eighteen minutes till sunset, be ready by the time it goes down."

When she said that, the assembled students dispersed to rest for the showdown.

 **0**

Seven minutes after the sun went down it started. They couldn't tell how many there were, thought they would later estimate it as in the high eighties, but when the Grimm came charging out of the cave, the seven of them were ready.

Ilyanna was the first to react. She raised her staff and pointed it at the oncoming hoard, and with a smirk and some Aura, launched a volley of fireballs into it. Two of the mutated Grimm died instantly, and at least six others were injured.

After that display, the others sprang into action.

Using her Ember Celica, Yang propelled herself into the fray. She came to a stop just in front of one of the Grimm, and with a single punch, sent it flying back into the three behind it. Sadly this did her little good, as these mutated forms were evidently more intelligent than normal. Using their second set of arms they sliced clean through the flying Grimm.

But that didn't stop Yang. She charged forward again and punched the next one twice in the gut then uppercutted it, blasting off its head. She continued pressing on, and though she took a few hits, her Semblance evened things out.

Weiss and Ruby stayed toward the back of the fray. Due to their wide area of effect, Weiss was doing her best to use her Glyphs to control where the Grimm moved to. Keeping that many Glyphs active at once was certainly a major effort, but she was confident she could handle it.

Ruby was helping as best she could. If a Grimm ever moved outside of where Weiss wanted it to be, Ruby cut it down. She'd gotten grazed a few times by some of the Grimm, but with her speed it wasn't too much trouble to dodge.

Blake was doing hit and run tactics. She would jump in to the fray, kill a few of the Grimm and use her shadow clones to make a quick escape. It worked quite well for her, but she had taken a few hits when she wasn't quite fast enough to get away.

Delsin had taken an approach very similar to Yang. First he'd had Alex throw him into the air, then he'd Comet Dropped to the ground with his Video power, killing several Grimm. Then he summoned two of his Wingmen and the three of them went to town. Delsin used his two swords, an upgrade from the Blast Core, and began cutting the Grimm down.

When his Wingmen died, he summoned more, and he did his best to draw as many Grimm toward him as possible so the others would have an easier time. Unfortunately his plan worked a little too well. He was besieged by so many Grimm he was having trouble keeping up. That combined with his over reliance on power over skill meant he got hit. A lot. But he powered through it, banking on his Aura and Conduit healing.

Alex was again on over-watch. He'd eaten a Lightning crystal and was dropping bolts on small clusters of Grimm, mostly focusing on the mouth of the cave. That way, the number of reinforcements the Grimm had was cut down sharply. As he circled the battlefield, he saw his friends going at it and when there was a break in the flow from the cave he would make sure to relieve the pressure on Yang, Blake and Delsin.

After her initial volley, Ilyanna took a moment to watch. The students handled themselves well in her opinion, certainly better than she had when she was their age. With a smile, she jumped back into the fray.

She strode up next to Weiss and loosed a second volley of fireballs, this one twice the size of the first. After it was done she loosed another, and another after that. She'd managed to cut down whole swathes of Grimm, but she was getting a little tired of Fire.

With a smirk she took her hand and placed it on the crystal topping her Staff. As her Aura flared a bit around her hand, she activated her Semblance. A full three seconds later, no more, no less, the bright red crystal had changed into a soft ice blue, her Semblance changing it from a Fire crystal to an Ice crystal.

With her newly shifted staff, she opened fire again, throwing large volleys of ice spikes into the monsters. She felt good as she watched them fall. She was at home on the battlefield, and this was where she shined the most. She could fight close up easily enough, but here in the back she was much more effective.

The fighting continued much in that way for a while, and it seemed to be going quite well. But the monsters just kept coming. No matter how many they killed, and no matter how much Alex throttled their charge, more and more of the mutated Grimm poured out of the cave. Easily over a hundred had fallen, and still there were more.

The extra limbs were a challenge as well. Until now, none of them had ever fought anything with more than four limbs, and while it may not have seemed like much at first, fighting things with six was not an easy feat. Plus the corpses weren't decaying as quickly as usual, making it that much more difficult to maneuver.

Eventually the party started to get pushed back. Weiss was losing control of her Glyphs so she had to turn down the power to keep up containment. As such, Ruby was having to cut down a lot more strays. So many, that Blake had moved in to join her, leaving Yang, Alex and Delsin to deal with the rest.

Yang was faring a little better. Her Semblance was working at full capacity so it only took was one hit to kill most of them. The problem was, landing that one hit was getting more and more difficult. She'd been hit quite a lot, and she was getting tired.

Alex was having problems as well. Given the massive amounts of Grimm he was having to kill, he was not only struggling to keep up, but he had to throttle back his out put to conserve power. He'd only brought a few crystals, leaving the rest in his pack back in his room. That left him with few options for power.

Even Delsin was having problems. His Video Torrent did almost nothing to the beasts and he needed to switch powers, but because of how well he'd managed to draw the beasts to himself, he really didn't have time. His Wingmen didn't even buy him a moment, so he had to stick with his Swords.

In an effort to gain some breathing room he unleashed his newly upgraded Bloodthirsty Blades, appropriately renamed Blade Flurry. Throwing caution to the wind he used up all of his heavy ammo. As the digital blades exploded nearly all of the Grimm in his immediate area exploded with them. In fact, he had made enough room that he caught sight of Yang just as one of the Grimm broke through her Aura.

"Shit, Yang!" he yelled.

His window closing fast, he used his Video Surge and managed to catch her as she fell. He then used another to get away from the Grimm that once again surrounded them. He wasn't as lucky this time. While he managed to get away from them, his legs and feet were sliced by some of the Grimm's claws, and they were rendered basically useless. He could still feel them, but he could only barely move them.

He came out of the horde and landed right next to Ilyanna, Yang still in his arms. Alex and Ruby rushed to his side.

"Yang!" Ruby cried.

"Ruby, she'll be fine, she's just knocked out! Weiss needs your help right now!" Ilyanna yelled.

And it was true. With no one thinning the herd anymore, Weiss was really struggling to keep the Grimm contained.

Alex ruefully left Yang's side to stand next to Weiss, and Ruby jumped back to her duties.

"Let me help," Alex said, raising an arm.

Weiss only managed to groan in reply, the strain of pushing her Aura to its limits starting to take its toll.

Alex raised several Glyphs of his own to assist, and together he and Weiss held back that sea of hate. But they all knew it wouldn't last forever.

"Delsin, you got anymore tricks up your sleeve?" Ilyanna asked over her most recent barrage of icicles.

"One, but I need time for my legs to heal up. Think you can buy me thirty seconds?" he replied.

"I'll try!"

She waved her staff at her feet and raised herself up on a ten foot tall pillar of ice. From there she loosed several volleys of icicles, slicing through over a dozen Grimm. She kept firing and wondered to herself just how many Grimm that there were. They'd all killed at least a hundred total, why were there so many?

Delsin watched as his friends fought, desperately willing his legs to heal faster. After twenty five seconds, his legs were almost healed, but that was when shit really hit the fan.

One of the mutated Grimm managed to break through Weiss and Alex's containment, and was right in front of them when it did. With Ilyanna up high on her ice pillar, and Ruby dealing with other stragglers towards the rear, no one else could get there in time to help them.

Once again, time slowed once more for Delsin, as he watched the terrible tableau unfold before him. He didn't know it, but in that moment, a small pulse went through his Aura.

He switched to his Neon and shot forward. He stopped right between his friends and the Corrupted Grimm and Deployed his latest Neon Power: the Stasis Shield.

A circle of static Neon no more than two and a half feet in diameter sprang up between them and blocked the beast's claws.

"You know, I've had just about enough of you assholes," Delsin said, anger coloring his tone.

He threw his hands up and sent the monster flying back.

"Let's see how you handle this!" he yelled.

He threw out several Stasis Bubbles and as they rose so did he. A grim smile crossed his face as he decided to indulge himself for a moment. He spread his arms wide.

"Radiant Sweep motherfuckers!" he screamed.

With that he unleashed a seemingly unending stream of Neon Beams. In one fell swoop, Delsin cleared out just over half of the Grimm that came out of the cave.

When it was done, Delsin fell to the ground and gave the remaining Grimm a death stare, daring them to come closer. None of them rose to his threat. Instead they ran back into the cave, just as Ilyanna had wanted them to all along.

As his teammates looked at him in mild awe, Ilyanna descended from her perch and called out to them.

"Ok team, that was good work. Take some time to rest up, then we follow them in," she said, maintaining her cool, even though she was also amazed by Delsin's display of power.

Delsin let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. As Ilyanna walked off, Delsin walked over to a nearby tree stump and sat down, resting for the next battle.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Ok, so we got to see some of Delsin's new powers. Still have plenty to go, so don't worry. Also, some of you may recall that "Blade Flurry" is actually an Evil Karma upgrade to the Bloodthirsty Blades that Delsin uses. This does not meat that Delsin now has Evil Karma. The Blast Core simply boosted it to that level.**

 **I hope you guys like Ilyanna, she's a personal favorite I pulled from one of my old D &D campaigns, and she was always a hit there. (Yes, I know I am a nerd)**

 **Either way, I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves, and seeing as I now have over fifty followers on this story, I must be doing something right. As always, don't forget to review, it is always great to hear from you guys. I was thinking of opening a forum for this fic, so let me know what you guys think about that.**

 **Also, let me know if you have any questions, I am more than happy to answer them, and my inbox is always open. See you next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**0**

 **Chapter Eight: A Rather Grimm Situation (Part Two)**

 **0**

 **Hey guys, pop82 here. As you probably guessed, there's going to be another big action set piece in this chapter, and I wanted to try something new. You see, for the longest time, I've been planning action sequences to the music I listen to (largely power metal with a dash of EDM if you're the curious sort). Now you might be thinking, that's not unusual, lot's of people score their fight scenes, its kind of a thing. To you I respond, yes. Yes it is.**

 **Now, it's actually really hard to write those sequences because of how detailed I get in making them, but I think I'm gonna give it a shot. So from now on, in any chapter with a big action scene where I use this method will have a song title at the front that is the song I used to make it. I strongly recommend you listen to the song while reading the fight, hopefully it will help you see it the way I did.**

 **Some chapters may have more than one, and some songs may be used more than once because that's just how I roll. Any way hope you enjoy, and here's the first one.**

 **First up, we have DragonForce – Tomorrow's Kings**

 **P.S. Spoilers for Volume Four at the end, make sure you're current or don't care.**

 **0**

They started up again fifteen minutes later. As Delsin stood up, he was grateful he'd had the chance to rest. He felt great. Around him, everyone else was ambling about in various forms awareness. He did a few stretches and warmed up his Neon power. With that done, he was ready for action. As he finished, Ilyanna called out.

"Ok, everybody gather 'round," she called.

Everyone in the clearing walked over to her.

"Alright, time to get moving. Everyone stay close to me, do _not_ get separated. We don't know what all we're gonna find in there," she explained, "We move in two minutes."

Delsin took this time to check himself over and make sure he had everything he brought with him. When his hand went to his left wrist, he was surprised to find that the power switcher he wore wasn't there. He looked around for it, and soon found it over where he'd spent the majority of the battle.

He picked it up and latched it back on his wrist. He wasn't surprised that the tubes weren't broken, they'd been made from polycarbonate glass, which was unbreakable. They had to be to survive what he did on a daily basis. Before he could get to what was really making him curious, he was interrupted.

"Time to go kids, let's move!" Ilyanna called once again.

All of them assembled by the entrance to the cave.

"Uh, ma'am? Quick question?" Alex said.

"Spit it out," she replied.

"Why don't Delsin and I just seal up the cave? It'll stop anymore of these mutated … _things_ from getting out and cut off our problem at the source."

"I wish we could. Even if we do that, that just means the Grimm will be able to grow older and stronger behind the wall. Then if they do break out, or rather _when_ they break out, we'll have an entire horde of hyper intelligent super Grimm ready and waiting to kill everyone around here, rendering this entire region uninhabitable. We have no choice, we've got to go in and put a stop to this," Ilyanna explained.

Alex nodded.

"Ok. Conduit? Do your thing."

Delsin stepped forward and lit up his hand as they walked into the cave. The purple light danced along the cave walls. As Ilyanna had planned, the horde had left a foot trail in the soft dirt floor of the cave. Whenever they reached a branching pathway, which happens a lot in old caves, the trail told them where to go.

After a few minutes, Blake called out.

"Uh, guys?" she asked, "What's that?"

She pointed down the tunnel to a bend. They all looked where her finger was pointing, only to find light was there ahead of them.

"Did we just go in a big circle?" Weiss asked.

"We couldn't have, we've been going straight the whole time," Yang replied.

"That doesn't mean we haven't gotten turned around!"

"Weiss, stop defending an argument you've already lost, it's annoying," Alex interjected with a sigh, "Besides, the color of the light is wrong for outdoors. They way you're going you'd think you couldn't see anything past your own enormous ego."

"Ooh, sweet burn!" Yang cheered.

"Why you insufferable little troll!" Weiss screamed.

"Troll? Is that really the best you can do? Do yourself a favor and use daddy's money to go buy a thesaurus. Maybe then your insults will at least be creative, rather than simply ineffective," Alex retorted angrily.

Yang was eating this up, but Ruby and Blake were backing away, trying to avoid the explosion they felt was coming. Weiss was visibly fuming, too angry to respond, and for reasons unknown, Alex wouldn't back down.

"Alex! Lay off man, you've done enough!" Delsin said, putting his free hand on Alex's shoulder.

Alex visibly untensed, having evidently been preparing for a showdown.

"Fine," he grumbled, embers of rage still in his eyes. He walked forward to the front of the group, as far away from Weiss as he could safely get. Weiss managed regain her composure after a moment or ten, but inside she was still furious.

"Are you done?" Ilyanna asked tersely, somehow managing to look mildly pissed and completely disinterested at the same time.

Alex and Weiss nodded, much to Yang's disappointment. The group continued toward the light and rounded the corner that hid it, only to stop a second time. Suffice it to say, they were at least mildly surprised at what they found.

"Ok, now this? This is cool," Delsin said.

As it turns out, the light was caused by a rather large deposit of Dust crystals, coating the interior of the tunnel from where they stood onward. Embedded in the walls were crystals of every naturally occurring type, and the light was more than enough for Delsin not to have to supply it anymore.

Alex walked over and grabbed one of the crystals. With a little effort, he pulled it free and pocketed it. He grabbed a few more and then sighed in frustration.

"Dang it, I need another Lightning crystal. I used up the one I brought with me," he said.

"Here, give me one," Ilyanna said.

Alex pulled a natural Water crystal off the wall and threw it to her. Ilyanna closed her hands around it and exactly three seconds later, the formerly blue crystal was now a striking yellow. She threw it back to him and everybody but Delsin was surprised.

"How'd you do that?" Weiss asked.

"It's my Semblance. If I concentrate on it for three full seconds, no more, no less, I can shift any one Dust crystal from one type to another," Ilyanna explained.

"That sounds useful," Alex said jokingly.

"It comes in handy," Ilyanna replied.

"May I?" Alex asked, extending a hand.

For a second, Ilyanna didn't know what he meant, but then she remembered what she read n his file.

"Sure," she said, holding out her hand.

Alex took her hand and closed his eyes. Barely noticeable, small rivers of light wrapped around Alex's hand where the two's aura's met. They faded into his skin before they reached his arm, and after a moment, they vanished. Alex then opened his eyes, and for the briefest of moments, they flashed gold before returning to their natural gray.

Ilyanna could feel the power. Where their hands met, she could feel the way her power moved from her then back. If she were to describe it, she would say it was like someone borrowing a book, then hastily returning it after making a poorly made copy.

For his part, Alex could feel when the new power arrived. To him, it was like adding a new set of parts onto a grand machine. He could feel the new gears align, the new plates weld into place, and whenever he needed it, he could just as easily find the power in that machine.

With the transfer complete, they both retracted their hands.

Alex looked at his hand as if seeing it for the first time, and reached out for the new power. It was there, as he knew it was. He smiled and dropped his hand.

"Thank you," he said.

"No problem," Ilyanna replied, some of her cheerful demeanor returning to her for a moment.

Just as quick as it came, her smile left and Ilyanna turned back to the group.

"C'mon, lets keep going."

By the light of the Dust, they continued into the cave.

 **0**

After twenty minutes, they arrived at a what appeared to be their destination, as if the massive horde of Grimm weren't enough of a giveaway.

"Well, that's not good," Delsin said.

"Truly, you have a gift for understatement," Ilyanna sighed.

The party surveyed the chamber. It could best be described as a grotto, or a large room in a cave with a great deal of decorative rock formations. The room itself was circular, around seventy feet high, and about 100 feet in diameter. The Dust crystal concentration there was also much higher than it was in the rest of the cave. Almost all of the walls were covered in the elemental crystals, including the ceiling.

"Ok guys, any ideas?" Ilyanna asked.

"Call for backup?" Ruby suggested meekly.

"Much as I'd love to sweetheart, the nearest backup that could handle this amount of Grimm would take days to get here, and we don't have that kinda time. Even if we brought in the Beacon students and faculty, the amount of time it would take to get them all here is about the same. We have to handle this with the people here," Ilyanna replied.

"What if we seal them in here with Earth crystals?" Alex asked.

"Won't work. The second we start using Dust, we make noise, and if we make noise, they hear it, and if they hear it, we won't be able to make a wall thick enough to keep them in before the catch us and kill us."

"Damn," Alex cursed.

"What if we blow up the cave?" Yang pitched.

The group turned and stared at her blankly.

"What, we have more than enough crystals here to do it, and we cut off our problem at the source," she explained.

Ilyanna sighed.

"Well it's not a great idea, but it is a good back up plan. If we can't think of something, that's our fallback option," she said.

They continued like that for a while, each person unsuccessfully coming up with an idea that didn't get them all killed. It wasn't till after five minutes when they realized all of their planning was for naught.

The Grimm had spotted them.

Every single one of the monsters was staring right at them, but for some reason, they weren't moving. Evidently the Grimm's mutation had also increased their sensory abilities. The team stared back, having instantly gone silent. It was a standoff in every sense of the word.

The Grimm were the first to break the stalemate, though not in a way that any of the others in the room could have predicted. A mighty roar came from the back of the cave, and a mutated Alpha Beowolf emerged, though this one's mutation was much more pronounced.

All of the bones visible on it had turned to a faded green-gray color. Small trails of gas of the same color trailed out of it's maw where the mandibles connected the jawline and the teeth. It also had the second arms as well, but the most odd part about the monster was the way it sort of glowed.

It was hard to discern, given the multicolored nature of the light source above them, but once you saw it, you could recognize it. The creature gave off a faint green glow, though this was a much healthier green, like that of fresh grass.

The beast walked forward until it reached the center of the room. When it got there, it let out a roar easily twice as intense as the one that preceded it, one with enough force behind it to actually shake the cave walls.

As it roared, the glow intensified to the point where the party had to avert their eyes. When the glow died down, the seven turned back to find that all of the Grimm but the alpha were dead, though the alpha was still staring at them.

As the corpses of the dead Grimm began to fade, Delsin would swear he saw the monster smirking at them. The black motes that were the corpses of the other Grimm floated to the alpha. First it was like a small flurry, motes floating in small amounts, but after thirteen seconds (Alex actually counted) they began to pick up speed, to the point of becoming a small tornado, obscuring the thing from view.

After a little more than a minute, the motes were gone. Not because they had faded, but because they were now a part of the monster's new _titan form._

"Ok, that's really not good," Delsin exclaimed.

"No shit!" Ilyanna shouted.

The monster itself hadn't changed a bit, other than the fact that it was now just over fifty feet tall. It roared at them again, and this time, true fear was on the face of everyone in the chamber. Even Delsin was scared. But, he managed to act anyway.

He quickly summoned his two Wingmen to distract the creature. They wouldn't really hurt it, but it would buy them all time to think. Delsin surveyed his team. As his gaze swept over all six of them, and then back to the Grimm, an idea hit him. He grinned wildly.

He turned to his team.

"Listen up everyone," he said energetically, "I have a plan."

 **0**

 **(A/N: This is where you start the music by the way.)**

When the beast finished off the fourth wave of Wingmen it turned back to face the party. The moment it did, Delsin's plan commenced. Weiss had been holding two Time Dilation Glyphs, one beneath Ruby and another beneath Yang, and when she saw the creature turn, Ruby sprang into action.

She shot herself forward with a mix of Semblance and Sniper fire and unleashed a whirlwind of slashes to the beasts midsection, then before the beast could respond, Ruby shot away. Yang followed up immediately after and released a barrage of crushing blows on the monster's head, each emphasized by their own shotgun blast. With the final blow, Yang staggered the huge Grimm and blasted past it.

Alex had since set up a ring of Glyphs circling the chamber. Blake ran along it and as Yang burst past, Blake opened fire with Gambol Shroud, keeping it distracted.

As she made her circles, the rest of Team RWBY unloaded on the beast with bullets and Dust blasts. After their first volley, Delsin used his new Concrete Launch to throw himself onto the beast and shifted to his Neon on the way.

As soon as he made contact, he began Light Dashing all over the beast, leaving Neon restraints wherever he went. The ground teams continued their assault, and Delsin managed to cover most of the monster in restraints. Unfortunately, the Grimm flexed it's arms and broke most of them. Delsin having anticipated this, he switched to his Smoke, dashed in front of it's face, and threw a Sulfur Bomb right into its mouth. Weiss raised a hand and summoned a Glyph, and he used it as a spring board to get back, simultaneously unfurling his chain.

As he made contact, he wrapped his chain around the creature's throat and began to pull, aided by his Conduit Strength. With that, Alex dismissed all of his Glyphs and he and Weiss threw the Glyphs back up all around the cave.

Blake, Ruby and Yang charged into action. Weapons at the ready, they used the Glyphs to catapult themselves around the room, making each launch aim towards the monster. With each pass they attacked it, and with Delsin doing his best to restrain it, the Grimm was almost completely immobilized.

Almost being the operative word.

The beast was very intelligent. Realizing that it couldn't get free, the Grimm backed itself into a wall, and rather than be crushed, Delsin quickly dashed away, and the rest of the team landed, the Glyphs fading.

Even then, Delsin knew they couldn't let up, not even for a second. If they let this behemoth gain any combat momentum, they'd be screwed.

When he dashed away from the monster, he moved to the wall beside him. With Ruby's Semblance and a Lightning crystal in his system, Alex sped to Delsin and grabbed him just in time for them to avoid the beast's massive claws.

Delsin switched to his Water power and used it's most basic ability, Scalding Splash, on the creature's chest. He and Alex exchanged a smirk and the latter threw a lightning bolt at the same spot, electrocuting the beast. As it staggered, Delsin switched back to his Concrete Power and dropped from Alex's grip.

In the air, he started a Boulder Dash and continued to run in circles around the giant Beowolf. He started to throw Concrete Shrapnel at it just to keep pushing the thing's buttons. All in all, they had only just started to actually damage it significantly, but it was a start. His eye quickly caught something and he quickly raised hand to point at something on the roof of the cave.

Ilyanna and Blake immediately caught on and started to steer the Grimm to where Delsin wanted it. By this point the rest of the team had caught on as well.

With more help from Alex and Weiss, Yang and Ruby ran up the walls of the cave till they reached one of the stalactite's positioned right over the spot the Grimm now stood.

Delsin unleashed several of his Concrete Barrages on the monster, and alongside Ilyanna and Blake's help, they successfully moved the beast into position.

With a single swing, Ruby used her scythe to cleave the stalactite from the roof of the cave, and with a mighty blow, Yang sent the thing crashing into the monster's head.

Not missing a beat, Ilyanna sent a wave of fireballs crashing into the debris from the falling stalactite, turning each one into a meteor and because of the angle she used, in addition to harming the beast, the meteor bombardment also ripped off the monstrosity's second set of arms, impaling them both in the wall behind it.

Alex surged forward after they impacted and grabbed the two ladies in the air, Weiss and he having dropped their Glyphs a moment before.

Getting fed up, the Bird Faunus quickly dropped the two ladies off, then immediately flew back onto the Grimm. He grabbed onto the thing's chest and loosed all of the electricity stored in the crystal he consumed.

The thing started spasming, and Weiss had to open a huge Black Glyph to keep it stationary. It only held for a moment, and Alex quickly ran out of lightning, his hair turning back to white. The Grimm managed to shake him loose and he went flying toward the wall to the left of the cave entrance they'd come in, and his Aura shattered from the blow.

Surprisingly, Blake was the one to catch him. She'd been using Gambol Shroud's ribbon to swing around the cave and fire on the monster. Unfortunately, the monster anticipated that and it swiped at them both as they moved back to the entrance.

Luckily, Yang was having none of that. Hair ablaze and bright red eyes, the blonde brawler slammed into the beasts forearm, making it miss.

The huge Grimm was reeling from that attack, and after quickly surveying the damage and seeing the beast was on its last legs, Delsin gave the signal to finish the monster off.

Alex ate an Earth crystal to match what Ilyanna had shifted her staff to, and the team got into position. Weiss released the Black Glyph.

Immediately, Both Ilyanna and Alex unleashed all the earth power they had and sent a giant fist rising from the ground to launch the Grimm into the air.

The four members of team RWBY had stationed themselves along the cave walls near the biggest clusters of Dust crystals. As soon as the monster was in the air, they stretched their Aura's as far as they could and activated all of the crystals in range.

A torrential downpour of fire, water, air, and earth blasted the monster's floating form and sent it crashing back into the ground, flat on it's back. With a final smirk, Delsin switched to his Video power and raised his hands.

"Hellfire Swarm!" he screamed.

From out of nowhere, the Video Angels soared up over the monster's sickly colored bone mask, and descended upon it, exploding on impact.

With that, the beast was dead.

 **0**

As soon as they were certain the Grimm was dead, Delsin collapsed. He was still conscious, but he felt very weak and could barely move. The rest of the party didn't fare much better. Everyone but Ilyanna sank along with him, with Ilyanna steadying herself with her staff.

"I cannot believe that worked," Weiss said.

"Me either," Ilyanna said.

"I think it's safe to say that no one thought that would work," Blake said.

"I did!" Delsin said, somewhat muffled by his position on the ground.

"Yes, and by some miracle it actually worked," Ilyanna said.

"I had fun," Alex said with a smile.

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy." Yang said with a smile.

"Thank you!" Delsin replied, managing to turn his head.

After a minute, the party got up, ready to move. Everyone except for Delsin.

"Delsin, you coming?" Ruby asked.

"You know, I would love to, but uh … I uh, … can't actually … you know … _move_ … right now for some reason," he said meekly.

Alex turned and looked over him.

"Huh. That's weird," Alex started, "I guess shifting the nature of your passive Ray Field repeatedly in such a short period of time can cause a bit of trauma on your body. Makes a bit of sense actually, when you think about it."

The rest of the party stared at him slack-jawed, Delsin included.

"What? I'm a science nerd, and I pay attention. Not to mention the fact that my Semblance functions in a really similar manner," Alex responded exasperated.

Ilyanna chuckled.

"Will someone please carry him?" she asked.

Yang walked over and picked him up, carrying him on her back.

"Watch your hands," she said coyly.

Delsin merely groaned.

"Ok, follow me," Ilyanna said.

She turned and started to walk away from the entrance.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked, "The entrance to the cave is this way."

Ilyanna looked back at Ruby over her shoulder.

"During the fight, I saw a second tunnel hidden behind some of the stalagmites. Our job isn't complete until we check the whole cave, so we need to go investigate."

"Oh."

"C'mon guys, let's check it out."

They walked to the other side of the cave, and just as Ilyanna had said, there was a second tunnel that lead away from the chamber. They walked in and began to investigate the tunnel. They found tracks on the floor again, easily identifiable as those of the Grimm they just killed, but for some reason, all of the footprints led out into the chamber, with absolutely none leading back down this tunnel.

They turned a small corner and found that the tunnel came to an abrupt end. They looked around the final chamber. It was a small room, no bigger than one of the dorms back at Beacon academy. They looked up.

Above them was what appeared to be the source of light for the room, the Dust crystal's having stopped a little bit ago. It was a large black and dark purple crystal that jutted straight down from the ceiling, and pointed at them, much like a spear hanging over someone's head.

"What _is_ that?" Ruby asked.

"Is it Dust?" Blake questioned.

"Not like any I have ever seen," Weiss said.

Ilyanna walked up to it and place a hand on it. Her Aura flared around her palm as she activated her Semblance. Or rather, tried to. Whatever it was, the crystal seemed to fight back, and Ilyanna was pushed away from the feedback.

"Ow," she said, shaking her hand, "If it is Dust, it won't respond to my Semblance. It felt like I was just throwing my Aura into nothing."

"Interesting," Alex said as he approached the crystal, "From what I can guess, it could be a Dust type to complex for your Semblance to handle."

"What kind of Dust would that be?" she asked skeptically.

"I don't know the specifics, but the more times Dust is combined, the less mutable it becomes. That's why we don't have multitype Dust, or anything with influence beyond that of Gravity Dust. Maybe this is a form of Dust that was combined naturally beyond what we can recreate in a lab?" Alex suggested.

"Impossible! Both the Schnee Dust Company and the Kingdom of Atlas have the most advanced technology in the world, and we proved that Dust can only be combined a certain number of times! It's not possible for it to keep going!" Weiss yelled.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time that Atlas was wrong about something that important wouldn't it," Alex replied, surprising amounts of venom in his tone.

If Weiss was going to say something, Alex didn't know or care. He turned away from her and returned to facing the puzzle before him.

"I know of one more way to test if this is Dust or not," he said after a minute.

He walked up to the crystal.

"Ruby, could you cut off a piece for me?" he asked.

The scythe-wielding redhead walked forward, and with a quick slash of Crescent Rose, clipped off a small piece of the crystal. Alex picked it up and opened his mouth.

"Wait, you're going to eat it? Are you crazy?" Delsin asked.

"Well it's that or carve it out of the wall and bring it back to Beacon. Figured we should have some results or something at least," Alex replied.

"Maybe, but be careful. We don't know what this crap even is," Ilyanna said.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Alex asked, "If it is Dust, we just made a huge discovery and we'll likely be rich. If it's not, then I eat a small rock that does nothing. What could go wrong?"

Delsin sighed.

Hearing no further argument, Alex opened his mouth and swallowed the crystal. Ten seconds later, nothing happened.

"Huh, guess it's not Dust after a-" Alex started.

He was cut off by his stomach betraying him. Whatever it was that he ate, it apparently didn't agree with him. Almost immediately after that he vomited, spewing his lunch on the cave floor, the crystal leaving him as well, still perfectly intact.

A few seconds ticked by, and though he felt awful, he managed to get his feet under him.

"Yep, yep, not Dust. Not Dust at all," he said hurriedly.

"I told you!" Weiss exclaimed.

"You ok man?" Delsin asked.

"I'll be fine in a minute," he said groggily, "but we need to break that thing now."

"What? Why? What is it?" Ruby asked.

"It just feels wrong. Evil almost, if you can believe it. Whatever it is, I think this is what's been attracting the Grimm."

"How can you tell?" Blake asked.

"When I ate it. There was no power in the crystal. There was nothing there but darkness, and that is not something I would want anywhere near a populated area. It's hard to explain, and I'm doing a terrible job. Just call it a gut feeling if you will, pun intended," he said.

Yang smiled at the pun, then moved up next to Alex and readied herself.

"So Ilyanna? Should I bust it?" she asked.

Ilyanna considered it for a moment.

"Yeah, go nuts. We'll destroy it and bring a sample back to Beacon for study," she said.

Yang grinned and extended her Ember Celica after handing Delsin over to Alex. Her Semblance still fully charged from earlier, she propelled herself at the crystal and shattered the whole thing in a single blow.

Delsin felt something weird when the crystal shattered. Something he hadn't felt in a long time he knew, but he wasn't sure just what it was. Having regained a bit of his mobility, he moved his hand to his wrist and switched to his Neon power. He began to search the debris as it fell with his Laser Focus.

In the heart of the debris, he saw a small object that was very much off color from the rest of it, and when he saw it, he remembered the sensation. He studied at the object as it fell, noticing that not only was it off color from the big crystal, it was off color for what it was. When normally a light blue, this was the same putrid color as the Corrupted Grimm.

When the debris finished falling, Delsin spoke up.

"Hey Alex, could you bring me over to the broken pieces?"

"Sure man," Alex said.

The bird Faunus brought him to the debris and Delsin rolled out of his grip. Delsin wriggled on his stomach over to the thing he saw.

A Blast Shard.

He reached out and touched the off color shard. He could feel something else in it. It was like the thing was corrupted, just like the Grimm. He ignored the thought and drained the shard. It felt odd at first, but soon the rush of energy hit him and he felt rejuvenated. The thing's glow died almost all the way, but it still maintained that putrid hue. He stood up.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I believe we have found the source of our Grimm problem," Delsin said.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"It's called a Blast Shard. It's like a Blast Core, only smaller and weaker."

"So you got new powers?" Yang asked.

"Nah, it takes like five of them to do that, but it did fix me right up," he said.

"So that's the source?" Ilyanna asked skeptically.

"Yeah, probably. The thing's are normally blue. This one's the color of vomit. Not unlike some of the other things we've seen today."

"Works for me. C'mon, let's get back to town. Job's over."

 **0**

A few hours later, they were back in Rintah. They all walked into town and immediately went to an inn and spent the night, the mayor having covered the bill. The next morning they went to said mayor's house after a quick breakfast.

The mayor was a man named Weston Galloway Lawson III. He was an older man, about fifty years old, though somehow he didn't look a day over thirty-five. He was about 5'7" with blonde hair and soft blue eyes. He had an air of kindness about him that made it almost impossible not to like him.'

When they came in, he greeted them personally. When they told him the mission was over, he wholeheartedly expressed his gratitude and gave them the reward money for the job. They stayed and chatted for a bit, he was great company. After a while, they left for the airbus station.

"So, I guess this is it," Ilyanna said.

"Guess so. Back to school it is," Ruby said.

"Well, I hope you have fun. I know you guys will make great Huntsman and Huntresses someday. And who knows, maybe we'll meet again," she said.

"Yeah, maybe," Delsin said, "See you around Ilyanna."

"See ya," the Huntress said as she turned and walked away.

Soon after a Bullhead came and picked them up, and they were on their way back to Beacon academy, each carrying a bit of the reward money that Ilyanna split with them.

 **0**

In a far off place, other events were unfolding. An old man had just received a report of the occurrence at Rintah. He was unhappy with the results, to say the least, but it was meant to be a trial run anyhow.

He walked into a large hall, resembling a hall one might use for a banquet, only the atmosphere was much darker. Six people were seated there, and the man walked to an open seat and sat down.

The woman at the head of the table called to him.

"How were the results?" the woman asked.

"Not as good as we first hoped," the man said, a deep southern drawl coloring his tone.

"How so?"

"While our new types of Grimm were certainly effective, they were defeated by a group of students from Vale."

"Ozpin. How did he manage it? Most Huntresses or Huntsmen wouldn't be able to handle them, let alone students."

"According to my report, the group of students was accompanied by a Conduit."

The woman seemed vaguely surprised.

"A Conduit? You're sure?" she asked.

"Not yet, but I plan to find out for sure milady. "

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Dr. Watts, how fares our … guest?"

A man on the other side of the table spoke up.

"He hasn't moved. He's still restrained, and he should be unable to use his abilities," the doctor replied.

"Check him again. If there is a new Conduit here, then he's the one who brought them," the woman said coldly.

"Yes milady."

The doctor walked off to do as instructed.

"Mr. Bertrand," she said.

The man from earlier perked up, his old and ugly face turning to face the woman again.

"Yes milady?"

"Go to that town and investigate. I want to know for sure."

"Yes ma'am."

Joseph Bertrand got up from the table and walked out of the room. In a few hours, the old Conduit would be on his way to Rintah.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Boom! Plot bomb! I've been holding onto that one for a while. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy that fight scene, I put a lot of work into finding the right wording for that one. Also happy birthday to me, I got one year older over the weekend! We also passed sixty followers and over four thousand views! Yay!**

 **Anyway, please don't forget to review and follow, I really appreciate the support. See you next week.**


	9. Chapter 9

**0**

 **Chapter 9: Bonds**

 **0**

 **Hey guys, just wanted to say I'm sorry I missed last week's update, but with college starting back among other things it was just really hard for me to find time to write. But, I believe I have made up for it.**

 **Up til now, I didn't actually have a fully developed plot beyond a few scenes I really wanted to play out and a general outline of what the overarching conflict would be. So, I took some time and managed to come up with a full plot from start to finish. I can actually give you a tentative chapter count too: 52.**

 **Unfortunately, I also have bad news. Due to my decrease in available free time, I will only be able to release chapters every other week. Maybe once I get ahead of the bell curve again I can go back to weekly, but for the immediate future that's how it's gonna be. Sorry.**

 **Anyway, enough with the bad news, here's Chapter 9. Enjoy.**

 **0**

They morning they returned, Ozpin told Delsin to come to his office as soon as possible. It was a Saturday, so one long elevator ride later, Delsin was there. He got out of the elevator.

"Ah, Mr. Rowe. Please, have a seat," the professor said.

"Thanks Oz," Delsin replied.

Ozpin looked a little miffed at Delsin's choice of nickname, but he quickly got over it.

"I read the report filed by Ms. Petrarcho. It sounds as if you had quite the fight on your hands."

Delsin looked a little downcast.

"Yeah, we did."

"And?"

Delsin reached into his pocket and pulled out two things. One was a small piece of the black crystal the team pulled from the cave. The other was the remains of the corrupted Blast Shard he found in the rubble.

"This crap here's what caused all the trouble," Delsin said.

Ozpin studied the objects in front of him.

"What are they?"

"The big one's called a Blast Shard. It's like a Blast Core only smaller and more habit forming. The little one, I've got no idea."

"I see. I'll have them sent to Atlas for testing. What about the mentions of mutated Grimm? Her report said you knew more about them."

"Yeah."

"Is there anything I should know that's not in the report?" Ozpin asked.

Delsin sighed.

"No."

Ozpin looked skeptical, but relented.

"Well, either way you did well. Tell me, how did the new powers work out?"

Delsin's previously dour mood all but vanished at that question.

"Yeah, they worked great. If I hadn't had'em I'd probably be dead."

"Then I am glad you have them. Is there anything else?"

Delsin rose from his chair.

"No, not that I can think of."

"Alright. Mr. Rowe, please enjoy your day."

Delsin got up and left the office.

When he was gone, Ozpin picked up the black crystal. He held it in his hand much like a gem expert would, looking over every single side of it. When his initial examination revealed nothing, he removed his glasses, and sent a bit of his own Aura into it.

Still nothing.

Ozpin returned his glasses and packed up the items in the same briefcase the Blast Core had been in, and called for a research transport to bring it back to Atlas.

"What are you planning Salem?" he asked to no one.

 **0**

Delsin walked back to his room, not really feeling up to using his powers at the moment. He reached the room fairly quickly anyway and walked in. Alex was there, reading what appeared to be a book on geology and mineralogy.

"You trying to find out what that rock was?" Delsin asked.

Alex tossed the book closed the book and tossed it onto his desk.

"Yeah," he sighed, "No luck."

"Figures."

Alex vaulted off his bed and knelt down. He pulled something out from under his bed and carried it over to his desk. Delsin couldn't make out what it was beyond a thick piece of rectangular metal easily two feet long, and that given how much his partner struggled with it it was obviously rather heavy.

"Uh, do I want to know what that is?" Delsin asked, sarcastically wary.

Alex turned and stuck his tongue out at him, then walked back to his bed and pulled out what appeared to be a toolbox.

"Ok, now I actually kinda want to know," he said.

Alex looked back at him as he opened his toolbox.

"Oh, really? Are you sure?" Alex asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Delsin replied.

Alex laughed.

"C'mon, I'll show you."

Delsin stood up and walked to Alex's desk.

The metal he had seen earlier was some kind of weird contraption made of four tubes and a video strip like ones you see associated with train stations or stock markets. When Delsin saw it, it reminded him of his power switcher.

With a better view of it now, he could see that from the top, the device was two and a half feet wide, about nine inches thick, and six inches tall. The tubes were on the front of it and each one of the four was about six inches long and each was connected to a valve that fed into the metal behind it. The video strip ran along the top, just above the tubes. It was about an inch wide. Each of the tubes, as well as the strip, had a switch next to them, that one would guess would be an on/off switch.

"Ok, I think I get the idea," Delsin said, "It's for me right?"

"It will be when it's done. For now, it's basically useless," Alex replied.

He opened his toolbox and pulled out a fire crystal. He ate it and packed the two objects into a heavy duty satchel.

"Whoa, where you going?" Delsin asked.

"To the workshop," Alex replied quizzically.

"We have a workshop here?"

Alex just started at him like he'd asked if the world was flat. Then he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Delsin, this school is the size of a small town, of course we have a workshop. Where do you think we do our weapon maintenance? Some of these things require heavy duty tools. What, do you think use blow torches in our dorm rooms?" he asked.

"Hey, I was just asking. You don't have to bite my head off."

"Relax man, I was just screwing with you," Alex said.

Delsin sighed and flopped back onto his bed.

"Whatever. Have fun building whatever that is."

"Will do," Alex called, already most of the way out the door.

The door closed behind him.

Delsin just lay there for a moment. He was considering taking a nap before going out to continue his vigilanteing. But first, he walked over to the shelves over his own desk. He didn't have much in the way of possessions, so all of the books belonged to Alex.

He surveyed the books, hoping something would catch his interest. He found several books on various sciences, mostly Physics and Dust Application, but with a surprisingly large amount of Biology. Beyond that, he found several Sci-fi and Fantasy novels, as well as a few history books. Delsin kept browsing and happened upon a book that indeed caught his interest.

Entitled _The Foundations of Aura_ by Monty Oum _,_ Delsin picked it up off the shelf. It was a large book, easily 400 plus pages. He sat down, cracked the book and began to read. It was an interesting read. Despite being a very complex subject, the way the book was written allowed him to grasp most of the subject matter rather quickly. Even still, after ten minutes, he got a little bored. He placed the book back on the shelf and went to take a nap.

 **0**

As Alex had said, Beacon Academy did indeed have a workshop. In fact, it was actually rather large, a necessity to accommodate all of the students who used it regularly.

Alex walked in and set his project down on the workbench he'd reserved. Delsin was right, it was for him. When Alex finished, it would be an ammo pack for Delsin to grab juice for his powers. One of the key problems Delsin faced on missions was the fact that they often took place away from his power sources, meaning when he ran out of power he wouldn't be able to recharge easily. This ammo pack would allow him to externally enhance his reserves.

It still had a way to go before it was operational, and even further before it was actually viable. Alex first had to get it running, and then he had to come up with a method of carrying it, seeing as the thing weighed more than enough to hamper the one using it.

So, setting to work on the first issue, he turned his project around so the back of the machine was facing him. He unscrewed the back and placed it beside him, revealing the devices inner workings. The fire crystal from earlier still in his system, he extended his middle and index finger on his right hand and used the crystal's power to create a highly dense flame from his fingertips, letting him be his own blowtorch.

He was about to get started when someone walked up behind him.

"Hey!" the cheery voice said.

Alex jumped and turned to face it's source, quickly shutting off the two-finger blowtorch. He turned to find a certain blonde brawler standing behind him.

"Yang," he said, exasperated, "Don't sneak up on me like that when I'm working!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I make you lose your concentration?" she asked coyly.

Alex sighed, blushing slightly. Only then, did he notice what she was wearing. Instead of her usual outfit, Yang was wearing a set of mechanic's coveralls, unzipped just enough in the front to reveal a hint of cleavage, her copious hair tied back in a ponytail.

"What are you doing here," he asked, "And what are you wearing?"

For a moment, Yang thought about teasing Ales a bit more. After all, it was so easy. But she decided against it.

"I'm working on my bike," she said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder.

Alex followed the gesture and saw it. It was a fine piece of machinery, he could see that, and the color scheme was very Yang. The bike was raised just off the ground by a few jacks, both tires and the engine cover off to the side.

"Nice," he said, walking over to it, "How much was this beauty?"

Alex began inspecting the machine, his engineer's mind moving so fast he didn't notice she had followed him.

"Not as much as you'd think. I built most of it myself from a frame my dad got at a junkyard," she said.

Hearing that broke Alex most of the way out of his inspection.

"You built this?" he asked in disbelief.

"Don't sound so surprised," she said pointedly.

"Well no offense, but I didn't know your field of expertise extended beyond punching things until they turned into a red mist," he replied.

She picked up a wrench and threw it at him. His aura absorbed most of the impact, which was good, since it hit him in the head.

"Ow! Ok, sorry," he said, holding his head.

Yang simply glared at him.

After a minute, he pushed past the pain.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked.

"It keeps pulling to the left and I can't find what's making it do that," she said, frustrated.

"Let me see what I can do."

Alex knelt down and began to inspect the steering wheel. On a hunch he reached up and turned the wheel a few times. Every time he did he felt just a tiny amount of tension when he moved the wheel to the right.

He moved in closer to where the steering wheel connected to the rest of the motorcycle. With his raptor vision, he saw a small piece of splintered and warped metal ever so slightly pulling on the shaft, causing it to drag lightly to the left.

"Think I found the problem," he said, maneuvering for a better angle.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's a little metal tag on the inside of the steering mechanism, pulling on the steering column to make it drag," he replied.

She got down next to him.

"Where?"

He pointed to the spot.

"Right there. If you'll give me moment, and back up a bit, I think I can fix it."

Yang backed away, and Alex lit his two finger blowtorch again. With a little work and a bit of luck, he managed to make the repair rather quickly.

"There we go," he said as he stood up.

Yang walked over and tested the steering wheel. She smiled when she found it worked perfectly.

"Awesome," she said enthusiastically, "Thanks."

"Anytime."

He began to walk away as Yang started to reattach the wheels, but he stopped himself when his engineering mind crossed over with the object of his crush.

"You know, if you want, we could make some modifications to it," he said.

"Yeah," Yang asked through a grunt, "Like what?"

"Well we have a bunch of spare parts. Maybe we can add on some weapons. Or boost the engine output to insane levels. Or turn it into a rocket bike. Hell, may be all three, it's not like we have any shortage of materials. Plus it sounds like a fun project."

"Don't you have your own project to work on," she sad, pointing at his workbench.

Alex shrugged.

"It's not all that important right now. Plus it's more fun to work on a project with a friend," he said.

Yang smiled, having picked up the unintended subtext. Had anyone else asked she would have said no, but to be honest she had been wanting to modify her bike a bit. That and he was right, working with a partner was definitely more fun.

"Grab some tools partner, we've got mods to build," she said.

 **0**

An hour after he fell asleep, Delsin woke up. He did a few stretches and switched to his Neon power. With all of that done, he opened his window and Light Dashed out towards Vale. He had a very successful day, as far as the crime went, and he was able to cover a lot more ground now, since the Blast Core had also boosted his Neon speed. He'd even managed to test some of his new powers, all of which were very fun.

After three hours working as the Banner Man, he had stopped ten muggings, three burglaries, five armed robberies of various stores, including more than one Dust Shop, saved two people from getting run over by moving vehicles and stopped an attempted murder. All in all, it was a good day for Vale. So good in fact, Delsin gave himself a break and stopped for a bite to eat at a taco truck. Once he got his food, he took a walk, eating as he went. By the time he was finished, he found himself at a familiar place.

He looked at the remains of the burned up apartment building, his first act as the Banner Man of Remnant. His emblem was still there, marking the side of the building. It had been cleaned up since he last saw it, much of the destroyed pieces removed. He could see that whoever owned it was probably going to rebuild, and that made him smile.

He spent a few minutes clearing the leftover debris then continued on his walk. After twenty minutes and a few more acts of crime stopping, his Scroll buzzed.

 _ **"Delsin?"**_

Delsin raised an eyebrow and responded.

 _ **"Yeah, who's this?"**_

 _ **"It's Jaune, I thought I gave you my number?"**_

 _ **"Nope, just listed as unknown."**_

 _ **"Oh, sorry."**_

 _ **"S'ok man, what'cha need?"**_

There was a brief pause in his response.

 _ **"You alright Jaune?"**_

 _ **"Yeah, I'm fine. Could you come by the training arena please? I need help."**_

Delsin considered this for a moment, then shrugged.

 _ **"Sure, be there in a bit."**_

After making sure to throw his trash away, Delsin collapsed his Scroll and Light Dashed back to Beacon. It took him a minute, he was on the other side of town after all, but he quickly arrived at the indoor arena. He walked in and found himself on the observation ring.

"Yo, Vomit Boy, where are you," he called jokingly.

"Down here," Jaune replied sadly, "Please don't call me that."

Delsin looked down and found Jaune standing next to a giggling Pyrrha on the far side of the arena floor. He Light Dashed to the inner edge of the observation ring and with a Photon Jump, he landed right between the both of them.

"Sup," he said with a smirk.

"Hi," Jaune said, sounding defeated, which for him was normal.

"Hello again," Pyrrha said, having managed to quell her laughter.

Delsin leaned back onto the wall.

"So, how can I help?" he asked.

Jaune scratched the back of his head then cleared his throat.

"I was wondering if you could help me with my training," Jaune said.

"Ok, how?"

"He needs a sparring partner," Pyrrha said, switching from friendly to professional in the blink of an eye, "Up until now, that's what I've been for him, but he needs more than one partner or he'll start to form habits he shouldn't."

Delsin raised a playful and suggestively accusative eyebrow at her phrasing. He wasn't entirely sure she got it until the faintest trace of a blush crossed her face. He had to hand it to her, she di a spectacular job keeping her composure. She coughed and his expression vanished, leaving Jaune none the wiser.

"Sounds like fun," Delsin said, an evil look crossing his face, "When do we start?"

"Do you need to get anything?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nope, I'm good."

"Well then, let's begin immediately. Go to the center of the arena."

They both walked to the middle of the room. Pyrrha stood off to the side with her Scroll opened. A few taps on the screen later, the overhead display came online, showing both his and Jaune's respective Aura levels.

"We're going to do this properly. This training match end if either of your Aura's falls into the red, if either of you leave the ring, or you become unable to continue. Do you understand?" Pyrrha asked, sounding suspiciously like Glynda at the moment.

"Got it," they replied.

"Alright, I'll start the countdown."

With another tap, a three second countdown began on the overhead.

3...

Delsin's hand went to his wrist and he switched to his Video power.

2...

Jaune drew his sword and readied his shield.

1...

Delsin manifested his two Digital Longswords.

"START!" the mechanized voice of the overhead shouted.

Delsin called up his wings and surged forward, crossing the distance between them in an instant. Jaune readied himself, holding his sword and shield in a defensive posture. Just as his surge was about to end, Delsin triggered his second one and held his swords close. He crashed into the knight's shield with his shoulder, and made a small spin to throw his momentum into moving the shield. When Jaune's shield arm buckled, Delsin slashed at his now exposed chest with his swords. Or at least he would have, but it seemed Pyrrha's combat lessons had been good for Jaune. When his shield started to turn, he turned with it, and when Delsin slashed, he hit empty air. Worse, Jaune now had a clean shot to Delsin's side.

The force of the blow sent Delsin reeling. Evidently Jaune was stronger than he looked. Carrying on with the momentum, Delsin flew backwards, well outside his opponent's reach. Jaune gave chase, charging recklessly.

Delsin smirked. With a bit of effort, he activated his newly upgraded Shroud of Invisibility, though from his position, Jaune was none the wiser. A new Decoy Delsin, much like one of Blake's Shadow Clones, took his place between the two newly formed angels. Invisible, Delsin watched from ten feet away as Jaune blocked, dodged, or tanked the angels' attacks and used his sword to swipe straight through the Decoy.

As his sword cleaved through the Decoy, the image vanished, and the now visible Delsin raised his hand. With a flash of blue, Delsin unleashed a Video Torrent on Jaune's head. A few of the pixelated projectiles hit him before he could raise his shield. Shortly after he did, the Torrent ceased and Jaune got hit in the back by one of the angel's laser blasts.

Jaune recoiled from the attack, his Aura falling into the yellow range. When he caught himself, he noticed two things. The first, Delsin was grinning triumphantly, one hand held out in front of him. The second was a strange green glow coming his shield.

When the Bloodthirsty Blades emerged from Delsin's hand Jaune raised his shield to block the impact. If he could have seen Delsin's face, he would have known, that was exactly what the Conduit was hoping he'd do. The five swords shot in sequence toward the tracer light on Jaune's shield. The first two knocked the shield away, and the other three hit him square in the shoulder, not having enough time or room to redirect to the mark.

The explosive impact knocked Jaune onto his ass, and the voice from the overhead called out as his Aura fell to the red.

"Winner!" it called.

Delsin walked over to his fallen opponent and helped him stand. Pyrrha approached them both.

"You alright man?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah, it just hurts," Jaune replied, "Man, those Conduit powers are something else."

Delsin did a double take then froze. He hadn't told Jaune about his powers.

"What did you say?" he said flatly.

Jaune quickly covered his mouth after realizing what he'd said. Pyrrha sighed and shook her head.

"Jaune," she sighed.

"You know about my powers?" he asked..

"Yeah," Jaune said, downcast, "Yang butt-dialed me when you broke the news to your team in Ozpin's office. Probably happened when you guys crashed into the elevator."

"Did you tell anyone else?" he asked.

"Just us," Pyrrha interrupted, "And Jaune made us promise not to tell anyone else."

Delsin sighed.

"Well whatever. Can't exactly change that now," he said.

He looked back at them both.

"You haven't told anyone else?" he asked again.

"No," they said in unison.

Delsin shrugged.

"Then I don't care."

The two of them looked at him in confusion.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Well it's not like it's a world ending secret or anything, and I was planning on telling you guys eventually anyway. All this does is save me the trouble of having to explain it again," Delsin answered nonchalantly.

Pyrrha and Jaune both sighed in relief.

"So, who's up for round two?" he asked.

 **0**

An hour and six training matches later, Jaune still hadn't managed a win. By this point, he was lying on the floor of the arena, exhausted. Though Delsin had to admit, he was getting a lot better. Pyrrha was standing next to him holding his water bottle.

"You gonna make it?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah," he replied in that strange way he had of mixing confused with tired, "I'm just gonna need a few minutes."

Delsin smiled.

True to his word, Jaune was on his feet a few minutes later.

"You wanna try again?" Delsin asked.

"He probably shouldn't," Pyrrha said, replying for him, "Too much training at once can be counter-productive, and we've been practicing since this morning."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Delsin said.

He turned to face Jaune.

"That's it for today. Go take a shower, you smell like low-tide."

With a sigh, Jaune headed toward the locker room for a shower.

"I don't remember him being that good. Or even remotely competent," Delsin said as Jaune was leaving.

"We've been working at it for a few days now, and he's a surprisingly quick study," Pyrrha replied.

Delsin turned to face her and noticed the smile on her face. It was different from her normal one, or the one she wore on television. This one was more happy and caring, and more profoundly so as well. Now, Delsin may have been a delinquent, but he was by no means stupid. He picked up on what it meant quickly.

"You like him don't you?" he said with a smirk.

Pyrrha turned red.

"W-w-what?" she stammered.

"You like him. And not as a friend."

Contrary to her usual demeanor, Pyrrha turned away, her face red in embarrassment. She didn't say a word, but Delsin knew from that alone that he was right.

"Well, here's a bit of unsolicited advice," he started.

Pyrrha managed to get her face under control and looked at him questioningly.

"Go for it. You don't know when your chance might disappear, and believe me, if anyone knows about losing chances to say something, it's me," Delsin finished.

Pyrrha stared at him, but he said nothing. After a moment or two of silence, he changed the subject and continued on as if nothing had happened. A few minutes later, Jaune returned to his friends telling their equivalent of war stories and having a good time.

Jaune listened intently, and all of them laughed more than a few times at Delsin's stories.

"Hey, you guys hungry?" Delsin asked after several minutes.

"Starving," Jaune replied.

"Yes," Pyrrha said, stifling a laugh.

"Well then how about this. How about I get everybody on the phone and we all go out for dinner. My treat," Delsin said.

"Sounds awesome!" Jaune exclaimed.

"That sounds lovely!" Pyrrha said.

"Great. Gimme five minutes."

 **0**

In the workshop, Yang and Alex were still working on her bike. In the six hours they'd spent working on it, they had managed to increase her engine performance by thirty-two percent and they had just finished installing a booster system allowing for near instantaneous acceleration to top speed. By this point they were covered in sweat and engine grease, but they were having a blast.

Alex stood up and stretched.

"Man, remind me to get Pyrrha's Semblance the next time I see her. Hers and Glynda's both, it'll make this so much easier," Alex said.

"I thought you liked working with your hands," Yang said.

"I still do, but I'm allowed to be lazy about it."

Yang smiled. Both of their Scrolls buzzed.

 _ **"Hey, who's hungry?"**_ the message read.

It was a message from Delsin to both teams RWBY and JNPR.

 _ **"Me!"**_ Ruby replied, less than a second later.

 _ **"Me too!"**_ said Nora.

 _ **"I could eat,"**_ Blake answered.

Ren sent a thumbs up emoji as opposed to an actual response.

Alex opened his Scroll.

 _ **"What's this about?"**_ he asked.

 _ **"Well I'm hungry and you guys are my friends, so I wanted to take you guys out for dinner. I found a cool restaurant in Vale when I was out and about, so I figured I'd ask,"**_ Delsin replied.

 _ **"Thank you for the invitation. I would be happy to attend,"**_ Weiss said.

Alex was tempted to say no now that he knew Weiss would be there. He had a laundry list of serious problems with her father, and though he tried to be fair and not judge her for his actions, but damn if her attitude didn't help. He was about to type back a "no thank you" but Yang took the decision out of his hands.

 _ **"Me and Alex have been working in the garage all day and I'm hungry. Give us a minute to get cleaned up and we'll go,"**_ she said.

Alex glanced over at her, but she was picking up her tools. He sighed.

 _ **"Great! I'll send you all the address and meet you there,"**_ Delsin said.

With that, Alex hung his head and quickly packed his tools to get ready to go.

 **0**

All ten of them arrived at the restaurant Delsin picked out within the next hour. Once they'd gotten situated and ordered their food, Delsin stood and raised a glass. He was the only one old enough to drink, but he'd been nice and chosen to avoid alcohol for the evening.

"Everyone? Can I have your attention please?" he said.

The conversation quieted and everyone looked at him.

"Ever since I came to Remnant and met you guys, you have been awesome. You helped me figure out a few things, and helped me adjust to my literally new reality."

A few scattered laughs emerged at his joke.

"You guys have been some of the best friends I've ever had, and I just wanted to say I appreciate it. So remember, this is my treat, and don't hold back, get whatever you want. I got five thousand Lien from that mission we went on yesterday, and I intend to spend it. Cheers!" he said.

They all clinked glasses, and continued having a great time.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Ok, there it is. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Also, I know I'm a little late on this but I think it still needs saying. RIP Monty. We miss you.**


	10. Chapter 10

**0**

 **Chapter 10: Throw Down**

 **0**

Lots of things transpired over the next several weeks.

Jaune continued training with Delsin and Pyrrha, along with any of their other friends when they could spare a moment. With that much training under his belt, he was getting to be a rather skilled fighter. Not quite where his classmates were, but he was getting closer every day. As far as Delsin could tell, Pyrrha hadn't gone for it like he'd suggested, but he figured it would be any day now.

Alex and Yang spent several hours over that time in the workshop and Ruby joined them occasionally. They finished the additions on Yang's bike, including side turrets, an electrical field based anti-theft system, and various other under the hood improvements. They also finished Delsin's new ammo pack, carrying harness included. It was just a prototype and it would be a while before he could take it into the field, but it worked.

When he wasn't training with Jaune, Delsin was out in Vale, working as the Banner Man. By this point, Delsin's activities had brought the crime rate down sharply. Before he'd been there, the crime rate had been about 11%. Now, it was down to 5%. Some of his teammates even helped out on occasion. Ruby was the one who came the most, she really enjoyed the hands-on approach to helping people, and with her speed, it was easy for her to maintain a secret identity like Delsin's.

So far, Delsin was enjoying his new life. The only thing apart from the school uniform (which, despite his enormous efforts, had not found a way out of wearing) was the way people treated the Faunus. He found that seemed to be the situation he found himself intervening in most. So many people hated them, without much in the way of a real reason. People on his world may have had reasonable justification for hating Conduits, but Delsin still knew how it felt to be hated for what he was, and that made it easy to empathize with them.

In fact, there was one group of people who were vocal in their hatred of Faunus, a group which Delsin was about to have the misfortune of meeting.

 **0**

Delsin woke up when cold water hit him in the face.

"What the-" he shouted.

Alex was standing across the room, an empty bucket in his hand.

"The fuck was that for, man?" Delsin asked loudly.

"Payback," Alex replied, laughing.

"C'mon man, that was like eight weeks ago!"

"I know. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold," Alex said, intentionally playing up the cliché tone of his voice.

Delsin just stared at him.

"You are evil," he said.

Alex smiled.

"I know."

Delsin drained the water out of his clothes and bed.

"So, what's first this morning," Delsin asked.

"First? Breakfast, then history with Dr. Oobleck."

"Ok, let's go. Wanna race?"

"Delsin, come on, do you even have to ask?"

"So... that's a yes?"

Alex sighed.

"Yes."

They both walked out of the room and took up their positions in the hallway. Delsin switched to his Neon power. Alex began the countdown after he ate a lightning crystal.

"3... 2... Hey!"

When he got to two Delsin shot off, smirking in his Neon form.

"That's not fair, you cheater!" Alex shouted down the hallway.

Alex quickly bolted down the hallway after him, streams of electricity and rose petals in his wake. The two of them bolted through the dorms, causing a bit of a ruckus, though less so than when they started doing it weeks ago. To the people in their dorm, it had become something of a morning ritual, though not one they like very much.

When they ran through the second floor, the two of them found themselves joined by a second burst of rose petals running right alongside them.

"Mornin' Ruby," Alex called.

"Morning Alex," Ruby answered, reforming into herself.

"Figured you'd join us?" he asked.

"No way I'm letting you beat me again!" she exclaimed.

She blasted past them both, taking the lead, but not by much.

Alex looked at Delsin's light form. Delsin couldn't talk in that state, but a clear message passed between them.

 _"Game on!"_

The three of them burst out of the dorms, each going as fast as they could. Ruby was in front, still holding onto her lead, if only barely. His own competitiveness winding him up, Alex reached out with Pyrrha's Semblance, having gotten hers along with a few others over the last few weeks, to the metal insignia on her waist. He pulled on it ever so slightly and took the lead, much to Ruby's ire.

He then quickly turned and placed a series of Black Glyphs in front of Delsin, who had been quickly gaining on him. Delsin was having none of that and stopped short of the Glyphs. Without missing a beat he went into Laser Focus and fired a Neon bolt at his partner's leg.

Alex saw this coming. Right as the bolt would have hit, Alex triggered a Shadow Clone and jumped away, fiendishly smirking at his friend. In that moment though, Ruby passed him again. When he turned back to get on track again and catch up, Delsin fired again, knowing his partner couldn't make another clone within seven seconds of making the previous one.

The second bolt hit its mark and made Alex stumble and trip, though his Aura kept it from doing any lasting damage. This gave Delsin the chance he needed to catch up, and he took it in stride. He overtook the both of them in moments and seized the lead.

Desperate, Alex activated the Semblance he got from Nora and used the lightning crystal in his system to boost his strength. It hurt like hell, but with that, he managed to propel himself forward even faster.

Ruby, determined not to be left behind, poured on the speed, as did Alex. The three of them, all neck and neck at this point, they ran towards the cafeteria.

 **0**

The rest of team RWBY watched from their dorm window as the trio raced.

"Must they do this every morning?" Weiss asked.

"It is kinda loud," Blake chimed in.

"Hey, it looks like fun to me. Wish I could join 'em, but my bike won't fit in the hallways," Yang said.

"Well maybe you can get Alex to help you fix that," Blake commented slyly.

"What was that?" Yang replied, feigning deafness with thinly veiled hostility.

"Oh, nothing," Blake replied, smiling.

Weiss sighed.

"We should get breakfast before they eat it all. Come on," the Ice Queen said.

Weiss quickly left the room and Blake and Yang followed her out after taking a moment to close the window and put a few things away.

"They at it again?" a gruff voice asked from the hallway.

The three of them turned around to find Coco, Velvet, and Fox standing behind them.

"Yeah, it's them," Yang said.

"God, can't they ever be quiet?" Fox said, "Some of us have sensitive ears."

"And do they have to do it every morning?" Coco asked.

"I know! I just said the same thing!" Weiss said.

"You guys are such buzzkills," Yang said.

 **0**

The six of them arrived at the cafeteria to find Ruby standing triumphantly on top of a comically collapsed Alex and Delsin, the both of them spread-eagle on the floor.

"What happened here?" Yang asked.

"I won," Ruby said, smugly smiling.

"How?" Blake asked.

"Hell if we know," Alex moaned.

"What he said," Delsin agreed.

For a precisely two seconds, the six of them were quiet. Then they all started laughing, even Weiss.

"Yeah, Yeah, laugh it up," Delsin said.

"Yeah, don't bother to help us up or anything," Ales said angrily.

The two of them started to stand and Yang and Fox helped them up, as they all started to get into the breakfast line. As they formed a line Velvet walked up behind Delsin.

"You let her win didn't you?" she asked.

Delsin smiled and said nothing.

 **0**

After they went through the line all of them, plus team JNPR whom they met in the line, found a big open table and sat down with their food.

"So where's Yatsuhashi?" Delsin asked.

"Didn't you hear? His baby sister was born so he went down to be with his family," Velvet answered.

A collective "Aww" rose when Velvet showed them a picture of the newborn Anmitsu Daichi.

"She's adorable!" Nora said.

"Yep, little pastry chef in the making right there," Coco said.

"What?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Yatsu's parents own a bakery," Fox explained.

Ruby started drooling.

Coco laughed.

"I'll ask him to bring some back for you," she said smiling.

Instead of a response, Coco found herself on the receiving end of a tackle hug that would have knocked her over were it not for a timely intervention by Fox. Watching this made everyone else laugh. A smile on her face, Velvet began gathering the trays on the table.

"I'll go put these away. Be right back," she said.

"Now class, what do we say?" Delsin said in a spot-on imitation of Professor Port.

"Thank you Velvet," they all chimed in.

Velvet smiled and turned pink as she walked away.

"So Delsin," Nora said.

"Hm?" Delsin replied.

"Someone told me you were an artist," she said mysteriously.

"Really, I can't imagine who would have told you that," he said as he gave an annoyed look to everyone gathered around. The effect was lost on Fox, who merely smiled back, knowing full well what Delsin was doing.

"Well, I was thinking..."

With that, she spent the next few minutes rambling about how he should make spray-paint murals of them around Vale. Delsin was reluctantly listening when Alex nudged him in the shoulder, an angry look on his face. Delsin looked at his partner, then followed the bird Faunus's gaze.

He did not like what he saw. Some punk that he vaguely remembered as Cardin was pulling on Velvet's ears and laughing with what was probably the rest of his team.

The other's at the table saw this (with one exception) and the conversation all but died.

"That's disgraceful," Pyrrha said.

"Indeed," Ren agreed.

This sentiment was shared by most people present. Blake and Ruby frowned in disappointment while Yang and Nora were fuming. Fox and Coco were clenching their fists hard enough to turn their knuckles white. Strangely enough, Weiss, a.k.a. Miss Opinionated, seemed all but oblivious.

"Someone should really do something," Jaune said.

Delsin looked at him and everyone else, wondering why they weren't doing just that, but that question died in his throat as he saw Velvet cry in pain. He moved his hand to his wrist and switched to his Smoke Power. He and Alex looked at each other and nodded.

"Don't worry. Someone is," he said.

Without another word, Delsin Smoke Dashed through his friends and the tables between him and Team CRDL. The moment he reformed, before they even knew he was there, Delsin slammed Cardin's head into the table.

Alex quickly came behind him, his hair a fiery red. Russel was the first to react, and he tried to quickly hop the table to attack Delsin, but Alex had other ideas. He stopped just in front of Russel as he was in mid-movement and released a close range explosion from the palm of his hand, sending the Mohawk-sporting bully flying.

Sky managed to get to the other side of the table and kicked Delsin back away from Cardin. Delsin was having none of that and released a Cinder Blast on both Sky and Dove, managing to catch Cardin in the process.

The table they were sitting at broke into splinters as the three of them stumbled backward. Team CRDL regrouped and stood next to each other in a combative formation, while Delsin stood in a hunched offensive stance and Alex knelt next to him, his full wingspan on display. Velvet, who had been freed from Cardin's grip, stood behind Delsin as if he were a wall for her to hide behind, all the while massaging her aching ear.

Both sides traded hateful looks.

"What's your problem asshole?!" Cardin shouted.

"My problem is that the asshole with the major brain defect and an ego that's clearly compensating for something, along with his three dumb-shit goons, are hurting a friend of mine," Delsin replied angrily.

"That's it!" Cardin screamed.

The entirety of Team CRDL readied themselves for the fast approaching fight, but just as they were about to start swinging, a voice called out.

"Enough!" the voice yelled.

All of them turned to find Glynda standing behind them, absolutely livid. With a flick of her wrist and riding crop, she reconstructed the table and the wall that had a near perfect mold of Russel.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she screamed.

Cardin started to speak, but Glynda cut him off.

"It was a rhetorical question because obviously, you weren't thinking at all!"

She turned away from them and began to walk away.

"If you wish to have a bout between teams, I suggest you wait for the arena, rather than destroy the cafeteria and threaten the safety of your other classmates," she continued, her voice taking on its usual icy chill.

She turned over her shoulder and gave them all a death stare.

"This is your first and last warning."

Team CRDL put away their weapons, but Cardin stepped right up to Delsin.

"You know what? She's right. We settle this in the arena. Today," Cardin spat.

"Count on it," Delsin replied.

Team CRDL left just as fast as Glynda. The moment they were out of sight, Delsin's expression softened and he turned to Velvet who was still hiding behind him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded, though her expression was unreadable. Delsin smiled and turned to Alex in time to see the rest of the people from their table walk up.

"Nice job with that explosion, sent that bastard flying," Delsin said approvingly.

"Thanks, I've been working on it," Alex replied.

"That was AWESOME!" Nora shouted.

"Ow! Nora, turn it down a bit will you?" Alex said as both he and Delsin, as well as Fox, winced.

"Uh, when I said you should do something, I didn't mean _that_ ," Jaune said, mystified.

"Well it worked, didn't it? Besides, had it coming. In fact, he still does," Delsin answered, the hard edge returning to his voice. He'd always had a problem with bullies.

"I guess," Jaune sighed.

Before anyone else could say anything, Weiss walked up to the center of the group.

"If you all are done, we really should get to class. It starts in a few minutes," she said, checking the time on her Scroll.

For a fleeting moment, Delsin felt he knew why Alex hated Weiss so much. She couldn't possibly have sounded more disinterested.

 _"No wonder they call you Ice Queen,"_ he thought.

With the mood sufficiently killed, all of the assembled students went to class.

 **0**

Oobleck's history lesson went by in a whirlwind, much like the Doctor himself, and after that was combat training with Glynda. Many of the first year students and a few of the second year students quickly filed into the seating area around the arena center. Glynda herself was standing on the arena floor, quietly working with her tablet as the students walked in. When everyone was seated she put her tablet down and addressed the students.

"Alright, I'm sure you all remember the rules by now, but let's go over them again just to be sure," she said.

"Today's practice matches shall be Team vs. Team. Whichever Team manages to defeat every Team member of the opposing team, or whichever Team has the highest cumulative Aura level at the end of the ten-minute time limit, shall be declared the winner.

"A combatant shall be considered 'defeated' if their Aura level falls below twenty, if they fall unconscious, or if they or their weapon leave the arena under any circumstance. Any person who inflicts an injury upon a 'defeated' combatant shall be disqualified.

"As a reminder. You are not being graded on whether you win or lose, but rather your combat performance in your match. So, remember to do your best. With that said, let's get started," Glynda said as she started up the match randomizer.

Several matches came and went. Team RWBY had a match against a team that Delsin didn't recognize, but they managed a quick and decisive victory. Team JNPR did as well, and it was actually Jaune who managed to beat the enemy leader, surprising everyone who knew him and his lack of combat skills.

After two hours and over a dozen matches, it was time for the last match of the day, and the only teams left were Team CRDL and Alex and Delsin's Team. Glynda looked teams in the eyes as she called them down. Evidently, she had purposefully held them back so they could work through their issues on the battlefield.

"You know, I just realized we don't actually have a team name," Delsin said.

"Really? You only just noticed?" Alex asked.

"Well, I mean I never really thought about it. We should probably get on that."

"We should. Just, not right now."

Both teams walked into the arena.

"Take your positions students. When the countdown ends, the match will begin," Glynda said as she backed away.

Delsin stood hunched over slightly and switched to his Concrete power. He let the stones from his power encircle his arms and hands, and he was itching to pound Cardin's face in.

Alex stood beside him, his wings displayed in full glory. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Wind crystal, consuming it and turning his hair a very light shade of green.

For their part, the members of Team CRDL all wore various expressions of rage as they brandished their weapons.

As the voice of the overhead monitor counted down. Delsin smiled.

"Start!" the voice said.

 **0**

It wasn't a long fight.

As Cardin brandished his weapon and prepared to strike, Delsin Boulder Dashed right into him, hitting with the force of a freight train. Cardin's hand slipped off his weapon and he went flying into the wall of the arena, his Aura taking a huge hit right off the bat.

"Cardin!" Russel yelled as he ran to help his leader.

Dove pointed his sword at Alex and opened fire. Alex didn't even bother to dodge. Instead, he raised his hand and activated the Semblance he got from Glynda. Under the telekinesis, the rounds stopped in midair, about a foot from Alex's face.

"Is that the best you can do?" Alex asked sarcastically.

Alex let the bullets fall to the floor. Dove took a step back out of fear, but he grit his teeth and began to charge.

At the same time, Sky was advancing on Delsin. The blue haired mook charged, and took a sideways swing at Delsin, aiming to cleave him in two at the waist. With a smirk, Delsin used hisConcrete power to launch himself into the air. Sky's swing broke the pillar, sending rubble flying.

Alex took that moment to strike. Using a great gust of wind, he scooped up the large shards of concrete rubble and directed them like a river. With a flick of his wrist, he used his magnetism to hold Dove's armor in place, and Dove along with it. Then, with a smile, Alex let the concrete fall, right on top of Dove. As the shards hit him, Dove cried out in pain, his Aura depleted.

The buzzer sounded.

"Dove Bronzewing is unable to continue," the mechanical voice sounded.

Alex gathered the shards back up with the wind and held them around himself in a circle, waiting for the next move.

Meanwhile, Delsin had been hovering in the air with his Concrete Thrusters, making sure Alex had a clear area to work with. When his partner was done, Delsin dropped the thrusters and did a comet drop. Just on the edge of the impact, Sky recoiled from the shockwave. Delsin shot forward after him, and when Sky raised his weapon to block, Delsin covered his right arm in concrete and punched through it, breaking the pole in two and sending Sky flying into the far wall.

"Sky Lark is unable to continue," the mechanical voice announced as Sky's Aura level fell to the single digits.

Russel was still trying to help Cardin, the latter still having trouble standing. They both heard the announcements from the monitor, and while Russel was terrified at the scale of the powers he was witnessing, Cardin lost himself to a blind rage. As he finally managed to get his feet back under him, he rushed to try and reclaim his weapon and beat them both senseless.

Alex and Delsin smiled. Alex launched the concrete shards at Cardin with the wind at his command but Cardin managed to get his mace and broke through each of the shards as they entered his reach.

"Is that all you got?!" Cardin shouted.

Delsin's smile widened and he pointed to Cardin's feet, Smoke trailing from his fingertips. Cardin looked down to see a ball of smoke and fire an inch away from him. He turned and tried to run, but that was when Delsin's latest Smoke power went off, one he called a Cinder Grenade.

The explosion wasn't spectacular, but it got the job done. The force sent Cardin sailing out of the ring. Luckily he didn't hit anyone when he landed.

"Cardin Winchester is unable to continue."

Russel looked around at his defeated friends and noticed that Alex had called up a small tornado to circle him and his partner. A tornado that was currently full of the same Cinder Grenades that had just done in his leader.

Russel raised his hands and dropped his weapons in surrender.

A cheer resounded throughout the arena as Glynda declared their victory, and Delsin and Alex held up their hands in triumph.

 **0**

In the minutes following the fight, Delsin and Alex found Cardin laying right where they'd left him. Delsin switched to his Water power and threw a bit of cold water in his face. Cardin woke with a start and was about to try and attack them both, but Alex's magnetism held him back.

"Let me go!" he yelled.

Delsin slapped him.

"Shut up," he said sternly.

Cardin growled a bit, but he did as he was told. Delsin moved his hand to his wrist before continuing.

"I just want to make one thing perfectly clear. You mess with my friend again and I will hurt you. You pick on another Faunus, and I will hurt you. If I hear that you've done either one of those, I will hurt you. Understand?" Delsin said flatly as he grabbed Cardin's collar, Smoke emanating from his grip.

Cardin's eyes widened and he nodded.

"Good."

The two of them released their holds on the boy and walked away.

 **0**

Delsin and Velvet were walking side by side, the two of them sharing the next class, Dust Mechanics with Prof. Branford.

"Delsin?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Protecting me."

Delsin looked confused.

"I promised you I would, didn't I?" he said.

Velvet fought down the rising blush on her face. She cleared her throat.

"Yes, you did but … why?"

Delsin stopped walking.

"'Cause I know how it feels to be put down for no real reason, and no one should have to feel that way," he told her.

Velvet didn't know how to respond to that. So instead of saying anything, she simply smiled, and the two of them kept walking.

"Thank you Delsin."

Delsin smiled.

"Anytime Velvet."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **In this chapter, Delsin raised a small point. He and Alex don't yet have a team name. In fact, I spent two days trying to come up with one, with no success. Then I had an idea. So, I'm reaching out to my now 70 something followers (Ok, wow, never expected this to be that much of a success).**

 **So, that being said, I'm giving you the chance to mold a small part of this fic. Over the next month, I will be accepting recommendations for Alex and Delsin's team name. Leave them as reviews, send them to me as PM's, or whatever else you can think of. At the appointed time, I will announce the winning name and the person who provided it.**

 **Have fun, and embrace your creativity. See you in two weeks.**


	11. Chapter 11

**0**

 **Chapter 11: The Stray**

 **0**

A week later, and the preparations for the Vytal Festival were underway. Balloons were set up, banners were hung, and so many other things were done to make the Kingdom look nice for the impending celebration. There were even a few new murals, courtesy of a certain graffiti artist who was actually finishing up another one at that very moment.

Delsin was up high on the side of a building, several spray cans at his feet. Ever since Nora had told everyone he was an artist, both teams had decided they wanted him to see some art around town with their faces on it. Bowing to peer pressure, Delsin smiled and agreed. His current project was a mural for Ruby. This one depicted her happily eating a cookie, all while she stood over a pile of cutely drawn Grimm.

 _"Think I'll call it...'Cookie Monster',"_ Delsin thought, smiling.

He pulled out his Scroll and called down to his friends.

"It look good from down there?" he asked.

 **"Oh my god, yes! Thank you Delsin!"** Ruby screamed on the other end.

"Glad you like it. I'll be right down."

He jumped off the side of the building, not even bothering with any thrusters. He landed on the sidewalk and quickly bolted away with his Concrete powers in an effort to not get caught by the cops. Though it was more for fun at this point. Most of the police force in Vale was pretty happy with the Banner Man's activities, not that they'd acknowledge it publicly.

He ran back to where he'd left his friends.

"Hey guys," Delsin said.

The moment he arrived, Ruby tackled-hugged him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "I guess that means you liked it?"

Ruby nodded furiously.

"C'mon. Let's go," Blake said, smiling.

The six of them walked off with Weiss taking the lead. After a minute, they walked up to find an old man raising a banner for the Festival.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful," Weiss said a rare smile on her face.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss. It's kinda weirding me out," Ruby commented.

"How could you not smile?" Weiss asked, "A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

"That's what you _like_ about it?" Delsin asked.

"Seriously, you really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring," Yang said.

"Quiet you," Weiss responded.

After a few moments of walking, the six of them reached Weiss's destination.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang asked.

"Ugh, they smell like fish," Ruby said, pinching her nose.

"And low tide," Delsin commented.

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today, and as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine Kingdom," Weiss replied.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament," Blake said, exposing Weiss's barely hidden agenda.

"Uh, you can't prove that," Weiss countered, desperate to save face.

"Who'd have guessed, a Schnee using underhanded methods to get ahead," Alex said flatly.

Weiss was about to turn around and tear him a new one, but luckily, Ruby, ever the oblivious one, distracted them all.

"Whoa," she said, pointing down a side street.

They turned to look at what appeared to be an active crime scene. A great deal of police tape was covering the entrance of a storefront. A pair of detectives from the Vale police department were milling about collecting evidence.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked as they approached.

"Robbery," one of the detectives said, "Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle."

The detective walked away.

"Ugh, that's terrible," Yang commented.

"I thought the Banner Man put a stop to all of these?" Blake asked, throwing Delsin a questioning look.

"Even good guys gotta sleep," Delsin replied, lowering his voice.

"They left all the money again," one of the detectives said.

That caught their attention.

"Yeah, it just doesn't make a lick of sense," the first detective said, "Who needs that much Dust?"

The second detective responded with unintelligible gibberish that sounded vaguely like "I dunno."  
"You thinkin' the uh, White Fang?" asked the first.

"Yeah, I'm thinkin' we don't get paid enough," the second replied.

The detectives went inside the store and Weiss took that moment to voice her opinion.

"Hm. The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates," she said.

"What's your problem?" Blake asked.

Alex was about to jump on that open line, but Delsin grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane," Weiss replied.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

Alex was straining hard against Delsin's grip, anger rising in his eyes. Delsin saw that and held tighter, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold him much longer.

"So then they're very misguided! Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Hmm. Blake's got a point," Ruby started, "Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy me and Delsin ran into a few months back. Maybe it was him."

Alex broke free from Delsin's grip right then, seemingly having calmed down. That state didn't last long though, as Weiss managed to ignore his presence and continue her hate-filled speech.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang is a bunch of scum," she spat, "Those _Faunus_ only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

" _Excuse me?!_ " Alex shouted, Delsin unable to stop him a second time.

That caught the attention of the rest of the team, as well as several bystanders. Alex cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I _am_ a Faunus. Don't you _dare_ try and lump all of us in with that rabble," he said angrily, jabbing a finger at her chest, "And if you want liars cheaters and thieves, look no further than your home Kingdom. Hell, look no further than your own family!"

Alex was practically screaming at this point, though somehow his voice was still in the range of a normal conversation. Both Delsin and Yang were trying to pull him back now. Weiss simply stood there, her face a mix of indifference and insult. Blake was on the other side of her, standing still, but both she and Ruby had no idea what to say.

At that moment, a voice rang out.

"Hey! Stop that Faunus!"

The six of them bolted off towards it. The reached the dock rail and saw that the voice was coming from one of the ships in the harbor.

A monkey Faunus was running across the deck of the ship while being chased by two of the crewmen. He reached the end of the deck and jumped onto the ledge.

"Thanks for the ride, guys!" he said with a smirk.

With that, he jumped off the ledge and ran along the pier. A few steps and another show of his acrobatic prowess later and he had produced a banana from nowhere while he was hanging upside down from his tail.

"You no-good stowaway!" one of the crewmen called.

"Hey, a no-good stowaway would've been caught!" he said, peeling his banana, "I'm a great stowaway."

A rock flew past his head.

"Hey!"

The two detectives from earlier walked up.

"Get down from there this instant," the first detective said calmly.

Instead of responding, the Faunus threw his banana peel in the detective's face. Immediately after, he jumped off the pole he was hanging from and ran away laughing. He quickly ran past the six students as the two detectives gave chase. As he passed, Alex and Delsin both could have sworn he winked at Blake.

"Well, Weiss you wanted to see the competition," Yang said, "And there it goes."

"Quick, we have to observe him!" she shouted, all previous feelings temporarily forgotten.

All six of them gave chase, though not a particularly enthusiastic one. Had any of them besides Weiss actually wanted to catch him, they easily could have, but none of them really cared.

Weiss broke into the lead and rounded a corner, the rest of them following. Unfortunately, in her haste, she ran into someone. Both of them fell to the ground. Weiss pushed herself up with her hands in time to see the Faunus and the pursuing detectives round another corner.

"No! They got away," she cried, apparently ignoring the girl she had run into.

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"Ice queen. Look down," he said with a sigh.

Weiss's eyes shot down and discovered the petite redhead she had knocked over.

"Ah!" she cried and reeled back to a standing position.

The girl on the ground smiled in a way that didn't quite seem human but was still somehow adorable.

"Salutations!" she said cheerily, though still on the ground.

"Um. Hello," Ruby said.

"Are you … ok?" Yang asked.

"I am wonderful. Thank you for asking," the girl replied, still not having moved.

The six of them looked at each other, confused. Alex then walked up to her and held out a hand.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Would you like help getting up?" he asked.

For a moment, she said nothing.

"Thank you!" she said, grabbing his hand.

He pulled her to her feet.

"So, what's your name?" Ruby asked.

"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you," the mystery redhead answered.

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Delsin."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asked.

Blake elbowed her in the stomach softly.

"Oh, I'm Yang," she said.

"Alex," the bird Faunus said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" the girl said again.

"You already said that," Weiss said coldly.

Penny considered that for a moment, then said, "So I did!"

Awkwardly, the group just stood there for a moment.

"Well, sorry for running into you," Weiss said.

The six of them turned to walk away. Ruby turned over her shoulder and smiled back.

"Take care, friend."

Penny looked like she was taken aback by Ruby's statement and reached out and grabbed her sleeve. Ruby stopped short at the pull and turned back around.

"What did you call me?" Penny asked.

"Huh?" Ruby replied.

"You called me your friend. Am I really your friend?" the girl pressed, severely invading Ruby's personal space.

Ruby looked past Penny at her team. Her partners were all making gestures that absolutely screamed "no." Delsin met her gaze and simply shrugged. Alex, however, didn't seem to be paying as much attention. His eyes were studying the strange girl in front of them. Something just really seemed off about her.

"Sure, why not?" Ruby said, her desire for friends outweighing her friend's concern.

Her partners quite literally fell backward at this. Alex didn't notice, even when he reflexively caught Yang to stop her from falling. He was too intrigued. He didn't know why, but something about this Penny girl just kept gnawing at him. Ever since he touched her, he felt like something was off with her, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

He stood there for a few moments, unable to shake that funny feeling. Delsin tore himself away from the conversation and looked at him. Curious, Delsin tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey man, you alright?" Delsin asked.

"Hm?" Alex grunted, having not really been listening.

"Hey, I asked if you were ok."

Alex's expression didn't change.

"There's something off about her," he said.

"No shit?" Delsin said sarcastically, "Hadn't noticed."

Alex shook his head.

"No, not like that. It's something... more profound than that."

That got Delsin's attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, a minute ago, when I helped her up? I felt her Aura, and it felt...wrong, somehow."

"Wrong how?"

"I don't know. It felt almost...blank? I guess? Like there was nothing there," he said, trying to elaborate.

Give the man credit, Delsin tried his best to understand what Alex was saying.

"I'm sorry, you're gonna have to explain that one a bit more," Delsin said.

"Normally when two Auras meet, there's a bit of an exchange. Most people don't notice it, but it gives us a bit of an instinctual first impression of each other. People with sufficiently advanced control and awareness of their Auras like experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses, or people with abilities like mine are more aware of the exchange and can typically get a bit more information out of it," Alex explained.

"Ok, with you so far," Delsin replied.

"But when my Aura met Penny's, there was nothing. No exchange at all. Or at least, I got nothing from it," Alex said.

"How does that happen?"

"No idea. It's never happened before."

"Any guesses?"

Alex pondered that a bit but shook his head.

"Not even one. It just doesn't make sense. Every living thing has an Aura, and even if it's with an animal the exchange is prevalent. It shouldn't be possible to receive nothing."

"Hm. Maybe she's a robot or something," Delsin suggested off-hand.

"A robot with a soul?" Alex asked, "Even a beginner like you should know that's not how it works."

"Hey, it was a joke, you don't have to treat me like an idiot."

"I can't help it when you act like one," Alex said, smiling.

"Haha, very funny," Delsin replied.

Their attention was brought back to the conversation when Weiss and Blake started yelling at each other.

"Ugh! You ignorant little brat!" Blake shouted.

"Uh-oh," Delsin said.

"We should probably go," Alex said, an edge creeping into his tone.

"Ya think?"

The two of them sped off, hoping to get as far away as possible.

 **0**

They were not so lucky. A few hours later, the pair found that Blake and Weiss had brought their argument with them. As revenge for their earlier escape, Yang and Ruby pulled them both into their room.

"I don't understand _why_ this is causing _such_ a problem," Weiss said.

"That _is_ the problem!" Blake countered.

"You realize, you're defending an organization that hates humanity don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil."

"There's no such thing as pure evil!" Blake started, getting up, "Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like _you,_ that forced the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like me?!"

"You're discriminatory!" Blake shouted.

During this conversation, Alex had been quietly fuming. The reason he'd wanted to leave earlier is that he didn't want to be there for precisely this argument. As the argument raged, so did he, and after listening to it for five full minutes, he had had enough.

"Both of you _ **SHUT UP!**_ " he screamed, unleashing the full force of his telekinesis.

All of the loose objects in the room shot upwards and held their positions a foot and a half in the air. Blake and Weiss stopped dead, Weiss's mouth still hanging open from whatever she had been about to say.

"I am sick and tired of listening to this bullshit! So, for once and for all, allow me to set the record straight! You're _ **both**_ wrong!" Alex continued.

The objects he'd been holding aloft all dropped. Alex turned to Blake first.

"I have never been associated with the White Fang, nor will I ever, but I have felt the same drive. The same need to kill, to hurt and break everything that has ever done you wrong. But never have I ever agreed with how they operate. What they want is not equality, it is destruction. They want humanity gone, and no matter how much I want to hurt the people who drove my kind to extinction, I will never allow innocents to come to harm in those pursuits," he said, all kinds of anger coloring his tone.

He backed away and snapped out his wings.

"I am a proud Faunus, not one who hides their face with a mask, nor their identity with a bow," he said accusingly.

One would not have thought it possible for Blake's pale face to get any whiter. One would have thought wrong, and been proved as such had they seen her face when Alex said that.

"Make no mistake, the White Fang are terrorists, no matter what moral outrage you use as a slipshod justification. And as a Faunus, I will never condone their actions," he said, turning away.

His anger returned twofold when he turned to Weiss.

"You. You mistakenly believe that Faunus are the only ones in the wrong. Well, in case you weren't aware, and if you had been paying any amount of attention to your surroundings you would be, you are incorrect. Humanity has done more than its fair share of wrongs to Faunus," he said, trying badly to remain calm.

"Oh yeah, like what," Weiss said indignantly.

That would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Alex lost it. With his telekinesis, he lifted Weiss up and pressed her against the wall two feet off the ground. Ruby, Yang, and Delsin, who had been standing there silently the whole time, finally snapped out of their daze and started to move to intercept.

Alex saw them and activated his magnetic abilities simultaneously, not giving half a shit about the pain he was in physically from using two Semblances at once. He used every drop of force he could muster to grab at the metal they were wearing to keep them in place.

He turned back to Weiss, his anger now plainly visible.

"For example," he said, "My family. Or what's left of it."

That got everyone's attention. In the brief time they'd known him, Alex had not said one word about his past or his family.

"You see, my kind was in the war, though not at first. We had long since proven that we were a very powerful force, having made our own small kingdom on the island of Vytal, not that any records of it exist anymore.

"When the war came, Mantle and Mistral left us alone, knowing full well they couldn't beat us on our home territory. So, we let the four kingdoms fight, keeping out of it. But Mantle, big-headed fearmongers that they were, didn't want to chance us siding against them.

"So, one night, a small squad of soldiers snuck into the kingdom. They made their way to the heart of one of the biggest Dust mines on the island. Once they arrived, they set up a small detonator. Alone it wasn't a large bomb, but it was designed to simultaneously trigger every crystal in the mine. When they set it off, the entire thing went up, as well as all of the land above it. That included the palace, as well as almost the entire capital city."

Alex was on the verge of tears.

"Hundreds of innocent lives, gone in an instant, and why?! They had done nothing! They had taken no side in the war! Most of them probably didn't even know _how_ to fight! And still, the humans slaughtered them mercilessly!" Alex screamed.

The others in the room stood silent and previous

"After that my great-grandfather, the highest ranking member of our military left, took charge. He had been in charge of our combat school, what the soon to be Huntsman Academies were based on. He saw the destruction and called out every remaining member of the military. They gathered every scrap of resources they could find, and with only a few soldiers to hold the borders at home, they flew to the aid of the Kingdom of Vale.

"They owned the skies, raining hell down on enemy infantry and destroying Mantle's aerial units with ease. Even still, many more of our kind died in the fighting. By the end of the war, our once proud nation had dwindled to a small handful of small clans. Bird Faunus have low birth rates and unions with humans weren't likely to yield one of us so rebuilding our nation was practically impossible.

"As our population continued to decline over the next hundred and sixty years, soon only the two most powerful clans remained, the ones from which my parents are from. You would think, after all that had happened, they Atlas would have left us alone, or maybe offered some sort of reparations for the mass genocide. But no, they did the opposite.

"Both of my Semblances are hereditary. I get the Copying from my mom and Dust Enhancement from my dad. Both of their clans had the same powers. Some of the higher-ups in the Atlas military had heard stories of how powerful we were. So, in their infinite wisdom, deemed them too powerful to let live. They only had one problem. They couldn't use military resources to do it."

Alex turned back to Weiss, his face red and tears falling. He raised the output of the telekinetic force as high as he could.

"So, they talked to their good friend Jauque Schnee. They paid him as a middleman to hire assassins to kill us. He was happy to be of service. He even provided the hit-men with the weapons they would need to do the job. So one by one, they did as they were told, and my kind died. We had done nothing. We had only acted in self-defense. Yet _still_ , they hunted us. By the time it was just us, just me, my parents, my older sister and my little brother, they thought they had finished. They left us alone."

Alex wiped his face and dropped his powers. Weiss fell to the ground.

"I tried. I tried to be fair. I tried not to judge you for your father's actions. But your attitude and your entitlement and your superiority complex and everything I have ever heard you say has done nothing but make me more and more angry. So, I leave you with this."

Alex walked over to the window and opened it telekinetically. The eyes of everyone in the room were on him, though no one knew what to say to him. Alex turned to Weiss one last time.

"Remember this. You may know a twinge of what it feels like to have suffered for what you are. But always remember, somewhere out there, there is always someone who knows it better than you. It would behoove you to take a good look at yourself, and realize that you are not the center of the universe."

With that, Alex jumped out the window and flew off into the night.

 **0**

A little after Alex left, Blake stood up. Without a word, she reached up and took off her bow. Her teammates looked at her with varying degrees of shock when they saw what it had concealed.

"He's right," she said, wriggling her now revealed cat ears.

She walked out of the room, leaving her friends behind.

"Now it's time I stop running away and do something about it."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Oh, god. This chapter right here. I hate having to write chapters that mirror the episodes to this extent because there just isn't a lot of room for creativity if I want the scenes to be set up in a way that they flow properly.**

 **Anyway, enough of my complaining. I see we have a few name ideas. This is great! Remember, the contest is live until I post Chapter 12, so if you have any ideas, post them.**

 **Also, I read through my chapters the way you guys see them the other day, and I noticed something. All of my scene partitions (the zeroes) are only one wide. They are supposed to be ten wide. If anyone knows how to fix that, please let me know, it's really aggravating. If not, tell me how to do the solid line-breaks that I see other people do in some of the stories I read.**

 **And we passed 90 followers! Yay!**

 **Well, that's all I've got. See you in two weeks, everybody.**


	12. Chapter 12

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 12: Black and White**

 **O00000O00000O**

 **Better strap in, this one's a long one.**

 **O00000O00000O**

Alex didn't go back to his dorm that night. Neither did Blake for that matter. In fact, neither returned for the next few days. When Delsin woke up to find his partner's bed vacant for the third day in a row, he simply sighed and went for his shower. Like it or not, he still had classes to attend, starting with another one of Professor Port's "Tales of Manliness."

A few things had changed in the days since their Faunus partners disappearance. Weiss was noticeably quieter and less opinionated. Ruby was a little depressed. Understandably, given that two of her friends were gone after a fight with her partner. Yang did her best to stay near her, loving big sister as she was, but Alex and Blake's absence was taking a small toll on her as well.

For his part, Delsin didn't miss him too much. In fact, the last few days had been some of the best sleep he'd gotten since his arrival. Since had didn't have to deal with his partner's awful snoring, Delsin had since been able to reclaim his lost sleep schedule. Even still, he kinda hoped his friend would come back soon.

Delsin was just about finished with his shower when there was a knock on the door in the other room.

"Be right there!" he called, still soaked.

He turned off the shower and waved a hand over himself and quickly drained the water from his skin. As fast as he could, he slipped on some pants and hurriedly went for the door. Whoever was on the other side knocked again.

"Hang on, I'm coming," he said.

He opened the door to find Velvet standing on the other side holding holding a small metal box.

Before she could say anything, Velvet caught sight of the Conduit without his shirt. Whatever words she was going to say froze in her throat. Her face turned bright red and she suddenly took a very keen interest in the floor.

"Is this a bad time?" she managed barely.

Delsin looked down to see he wasn't wearing a shirt. He smirked and moved to get one, quickly and quietly putting it on.

"Better?" he asked.

Velvet looked up, her face still a little red. She cleared her throat.

"Here," she said, holding the box out to him.

Curious, Delsin took the box in his hands.

"What's in it?" he asked.

"Open it and see," she replied, smiling.

He did as she said and opened the box. He smiled when he saw that it contained several chocolate chip cookies with little smiley faces drawn on with icing.

"Aww, these are adorable," he said.

"Thanks, I made them myself," Velvet replied.

"You did?"

"Yatsu's not the only one on our team that knows how to bake."

"Cool."

He picked one up and took a bite. It was actually a lot better than he expected, and he'd expected it to be pretty good.

"God, that's good," Delsin said, his mouth full of cookie.

Velvet blushed again, though much softer this time.

"I gotta ask though, what's the occasion?" he asked.

Velvet smiled softly.

"You've helped me a lot. Not just lately but literally since we first met. I wanted to find a way to say thank you, and this is what I came up with,"she explained.

Delsin returned the smile.

"Thank you Velvet."

Delsin picked up another cookie and scarfed it down.

"There's a few in there for Alex too," she said, interrupting his third cookie, "Make sure to leave him some."

"Didn't you hear?" Delsin said.

"He's missing, yeah. Any idea where he is?" she asked.

"Not one," Delsin replied.

He looked down at the cookie tin, then smiled as an idea came to him. He covered the tin and placed it on his desk.

"You wanna blow off class and help me look for him?"he asked.

Velvet smiled and nodded.

 **O00000O00000O**

Alex awoke on his perch on top of a building in downtown Vale, the sun showing it to be about noon.

He hadn't had the best few days. After he took off, Alex flew around Vale to clear his head. It didn't help much, and he knew that if he went back in his current state, he was more than likely going to end up doing something he'd regret. So, when he finally felt tired, he simply picked a rooftop and passed out.

Over the next few days, he spent his every waking hour doing anything and everything he could to relax. It took him all of two hours before he gave up and went to go blow stuff up in the Forest of Forever Fall. After two days, he had managed to level a rather substantial area, along with any accompanying Grimm.

All of that brought him to where he was at the moment. After he got up and stretched, he checked his pockets.

 _"Damn. Out of Dust,"_ he thought.

He briefly considered heading back to his room to get some more, but he decided he wasn't ready yet. Instead, he pulled out his wallet and checked it out.

 _"Alright, let's go get some."_

A minute later, and he was in the air again. It took him a while to find a Dust shop that was open, which was not surprising given the rash of Dust robberies they'd been having. Still, when he found one, he walked right up to the man at the counter.

The cashier was an old man, one he had seen on many occasions running various stores around Vale. He hadn't caught the man's name yet, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. He was just there to get a few crystals and go.

He walked straight to the counter and pulled out his wallet.

"Can I get a case of your cheapest Fire crystals please?" Alex asked.

The shopkeeper tilted his head sideways, curious.

"I just need Dust. I can take it from there."

The old man shrugged and held up a finger, then turned and reached for a small case of ten crystals. He put it on the counter. Alex opened it and checked. When he found everything to be in order, he smiled.

"That works, how much do I owe you?"

The shopkeeper started to punch numbers into the register. At that moment, the entry bell he had hooked up over the door rang. Neither of them were paying much attention.

At least, not until there were guns in their face.

"On the ground," a voice said from behind Alex, "Both of you."

Almost immediately after, Alex felt the familiar cold sensation of a gun pressed up against the back of his head. He turned his head slightly so he could get a better look at his assailants, but before he could go more than three degrees the gun pressed further into the base of his skull.

"Eyes forward."

Alex started to get to his knees, and the shopkeeper quietly followed on the other side of the counter. When he was on his stomach, the assailant spoke again.

"You so much as twitch, I _will_ put you down."

Alex did as he was told. Normally he would have taken these guys down by now, but he wasn't alone. In the time it would take him to turn and survey his immediate area, the shopkeeper would more than likely either be a hostage, or dead.

And there was still another problem. He was powerful, sure, but the majority of his abilities required open space to use effectively. If he were to fight to the fullest extent of his abilities here, he would likely end up destroying most of the store.

The shopkeeper could see the struggle on his face and used his head to gesture upwards toward the back of the store. Alex caught on and smiled when he saw where the gesture led too. Security mirrors had been installed in all four corners of the store.

With one eye, Alex looked into the mirror positioned in the back right corner of the store. In the mirror, he could make out that the crew was a team of four. One was by the door and another was standing between him and the shopkeeper, evidently on crowd control. The other two were emptying out the Dust in the store into various cases and tubes.

Alex smiled. In fifteen seconds, he had a plan.

 **O00000O00000O**

Alex launched a sweep kick from the ground. It connected with the back of the crowd control guy's knee, though that wasn't the goal. He used the force of the swing to carry him upwards and get his feet under him.

As he spun, he ripped the gun out of the man's hand and smacked him in the back of the head with it on his second pass. He then stopped, aimed at the lookout and fired, nailing the guy in the shoulder. He went down and as his grip loosened on his weapon, Alex pulled it toward his open hand telekinetically.

One of the looters dropped his bag and leveled his gun at Alex. The other got creative. He reached into his bag and pulled out an Earth Crystal. With a flick of his wrist, the creative looter activated the Crystal and attempted to trap Alex's legs. Alex only barely dodged, one of Blake's Shadow Clones taking his place less than half a second before he would have been trapped.

It was not a great move. First, it gave the looter with a gun a perfect shot at him, with him unable to avoid, nor the capacity to block in the time it would take the shot to reach him. The looter pulled the trigger and let loose three shots right into Alex's chest. Second, the knockback effect from the bullets hitting his Aura sent him flying back into a display case full of high quality Water Crystals.

Alex was a bit disoriented, and he had dropped both guns when he got hit. But his training kicked in and he got to his feet, scooping up one of the Water Crystals from the display. He moved it behind his back and activated Ilyanna's Semblance. For him it would take five seconds to shift it, but he could buy that much.

"So, who's brilliant idea was it to rob a store in downtown Vale in broad daylight?" he asked.

No one said a thing. Alex felt the crystal finish changing behind his back and he smiled.

"No takers? Well I guess it doesn't matter. You're all going to jail anyway."

With that and a dash of Ruby's speed he swallowed the newly shifted Lightning Crystal. The three robbers opened fire, but Alex had already moved. Now he was beside all three of them, facing the outside window.

His smile widened.

"Try this on for size!" he shouted, " _Thunderwave_!"

Alex thrust his hands forward, expelling a wide wave of static. Not enough to kill, but more than enough to send the three remaining assailants flying into and _through_ the window.

Alex followed them out after they landed a good six feet outside the store. Then he reached into his pocket and puled out his Scroll to call the Vale Police Department. But before he could make the call, he heard something land at his feet. He looked up to see the guy on crowd control had woken up. Then he looked down to see that he had also thrown a stun grenade at his feet.

Before he could react, the grenade went off, blinding him and leaving him disoriented. Unbeknownst to him, the last robber and his friends managed to escape, though no one there was quite sure how.

Still disoriented, Alex tripped and fell over. When his head hit the concrete, he blacked out. The last thing he remembered seeing was the small red wolf head on the back of the robber's jacket.

 **O00000O00000O**

Five minutes later, the shopkeeper woke him up from his collapsed state on the sidewalk, a sad expression on his face. He helped Alex to his feet and they both turned to survey the damage.

The front windows were broken, and the display case that Alex had been propelled into had dominoed into at least two others. Plus there was the damage to the floor from when one of the robbers got creative. It wasn't a terrible loss, but it wasn't great either.

The shopkeeper sighed and hung his head.

"You know, this is twice in three months that I've been robbed. Maybe I should move out of the Dust business," he said, the first thing he'd said since Alex had seen him.

He turned to Alex.

"Thank you young man. You saved my merchandise and probably my life. Consider those Crystals you wanted on the house."

Alex smiled softly.

"Thanks," Alex replied.

"No trouble really. I'll call a contractor and have them repair it. Should be redone in a couple days. Besides, I've got other stores to run."

The shopkeeper started to walk back into the store, a sad look on his face.

"If you want, I could stick around. Help with the repairs. I've got a Semblance that can fix a lot of the damage," Alex said, feeling a twinge of guilt.

The man looked back at him quizzically.

"How?"

Alex raised a hand.

"Just watch," he said.

He activated Glynda's Telekinesis and scooped up the pieces of glass from one of the broken windows. It took him a few minutes to find how all of the pieces fit together, but he did manage to completely fix the window. The shopkeeper smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

The police showed up less than a minute later. They quickly cordoned off the area then pulled both Alex and the shopkeeper into the store to give their statements.

"So, what happened here?" the officer asked.

"Well, I was buying a few crystals from the low quality rack when four guys came in to the store with guns. They told me to get on the ground, and I did," Alex said.

"So when did the fighting start?"

"While I was on the ground, the shopkeeper gestured to the security mirror over there. That let me see the four robbers. Once I'd gotten a good enough look at them, I jumped up and went to town on them."

The officer looked skeptical.

"So you're telling me, one kid managed to chase off four armed robbers, without getting himself shot in the process?" he asked.

Alex frowned.

"Yes, one kid, who happens to be a student at Beacon and one of the top ten first year students there, managed to chase off four armed robbers without getting dead," Alex replied, a hard edge in his tone, "and the shopkeeper can and will confirm that."

The officer sighed.

"Right. You got any idea who they were?"

"I didn't see their faces, they wore masks, but as they were running away I saw something on the back of one guy's jacket."

"What?"

"A red wolf head, with three claw marks going through it. The symbol of the White Fang," Alex answered, his tone serious.

The officer's eyes widened slightly, but his face remained a picture of indifference.

"Great. More of this street level crap, and just after we get a tip they were moving out of it," the officer said under his breath.

Alex's head perked up at that. He was about to ask what the officer meant when something stopped him.

 _"Wait, that doesn't make sense. Assuming that the tip was accurate, which given the nature of the White Fang's goals is a good assumption, he's right. Why would they still be doing street crime if they had plans for a bigger operation?"_ he thought.

The memory of a crime scene from a few days earlier popped into his head.

 _"They left all the money again,"_ he remembered one of the detectives saying.

Alex's eyes went to the register. It hadn't been touched. In fact, as he recalled, they had told the shopkeeper to get on the ground without so much as even asking for money.

 _"Dust. The goals of these crimes has been Dust, not money, and this is the only Dust shop open in this entire area of the kingdom. Still, that doesn't explain why they robbed this place when they-"_

He cut himself off when the pieces he'd been circling started to click into place.

 _"Unless... what if the robberies were the trigger for the bigger operation?"_

At that moment, the logo on one of the crates of Dust on the ground caught his eye.

The Schnee Dust Company logo.

Alex looked at the assorted police officers circling the store as the last pieces clicked into place.

 _"Even if I told them what I'm thinking, I doubt they would believe a kid,"_ he thought.

He quietly ducked out of the store and started to walk away.

"Which means, I need to find someone who will."

With that, he opened his wings and took off to find Blake.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin sighed and jumped off the rooftop he was standing on. With his Smoke power active, he landed right next to Velvet.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"Nope," he sighed, "Buildings here are too short for me to get a good view. Can't see more than a couple blocks."

"Darn. Moving on?"

"Guess so. No point in staying here."

"Where to next?"

Delsin shrugged.

"No idea. This ain't really my thing," he said.

"We'll find him eventually," Velvet replied softly.

The pair continued along. It had been three hours since their search began, and still they had yet to find even a trace of their feathered friend. By now Delsin was getting a bit frustrated with their lack of results.

"Maybe we should call the police?" Velvet suggested.

"I'm tempted. This is getting annoying," Delsin replied.

They kept walking, only for Delsin to stop them a minute later.

"What is it? Do you see something?" Velvet asked.

"No," he started, "But this place feels familiar. Have we been here before?"

Velvet looked around. Her eyes quickly fell on an alleyway just across the street. She pointed at it.

"Over there," she said, smiling.

Delsin followed her hand to the alley. While it felt familiar to him, he couldn't place why.

"What is it?" he asked.

Velvet giggled.

"It's where you first saved me, silly," she said with a smile.

When he saw just how pretty Velvet looked when she laughed, for once, it was Delsin's turn to blush, if only for a moment. He quickly hid his face and walked away. Velvet smiled and followed him. As they continued walking, several hours passed and the pair found themselves at the scene of a crime.

The area was cordoned off with police tape and with the number of policemen milling about, Delsin couldn't quite make out the specifics of what had happened. His curiosity piqued, he ventured over to one of the men standing near the edge of the tape.

Delsin had seen him around. In fact, he recognized him as the owner of the Dust shop he and Ruby had saved on his first night here.

"Hey," Delsin started, tapping the older man on the shoulder, "What happened here?"

"I was being robbed, but one of my customers stepped up and chased off the robbers," he said. He smiled and gave Delsin a knowing look, "Seems to be happening a lot to me recently."

Delsin smiled.

"Yeah. Guess so. So where is this mysterious hero?" he asked sarcastically.

"I think I saw him fly off when the police were done getting his statement," the old man replied.

Delsin and Velvet immediately perked up.

"Wait, flew? Are you serious?" Delsin asked.

"I know it sounds silly, but I swear the kid had wings. Flew off that way a few hours ago," the man said, pointing down the street.

Velvet had been searching the area ever since the old man said the word "fly", and something caught her eye.

"Delsin look!" she said pointing to the ground twenty feet away.

The pair quickly walked over and found something on the ground where Velvet had been pointing.

A pure white feather.

Delsin smiled.

"Alright. Clue number one, here we are," he said.

 **O00000O00000O**

"Did I miss anything?" Sun asked, jumping onto the rooftop.

"Not really," Blake replied, "They've offloaded all the crates from the boat, now they're just sitting there."

"Cool. I stole you some food," Sun commented, handing her an apple.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?"

Blake glared at him.

"Ok, too soon."

If their conversation was going to go anywhere else, it would have been cut off by the massive gust of wind that accompanied the Bullhead that passed over them.

The heavy transport did a small circle around the interior of the dock before touching down between several shipping containers. The offload ramp quickly extended and the passengers began to disembark. When they came into view, Blake inhaled.

"Oh no," she said quietly.

"Is that them?" Sun asked.

"Yes, it's them," Blake replied sadly, her eyes locked on the insignia on the back of one of the passenger's jackets.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked.

"No, I think deep down I knew," Blake said, "I just didn't want to be right."

At that moment, a voice cut through the sound and got her attention.

"Hey!" the voice called, "What's the holdup?"

A man exited the Bullhead. It took her a moment to recognize him, but since his face was displayed on every clean wall in the form of wanted posters, a moment was all she needed.

"We're not the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment," Roman Torchwick said, "Soo, why don't you animals pick up the pace?"

Back on the rooftop, Blake was very confused.

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like _that,_ " she said.

She whipped out Gambol Shroud and jumped off the rooftop.

"Hey! What're you doing?!" Sun exclaimed as she ran off towards the thieves.

Blake crept silently and swiftly through the gaps in the shipping containers. Like a shadow she wove herself between the gaps to come up right behind Torchwick. With another step and a clever use of her Clones, she suddenly stood right behind the red headed criminal, with her blade pressed against his throat..

"What the?!" he shouted, "Oh for f-"

"Nobody move!" Blake shouted, just in time for two of the White Fang members to step forward and brandish their weapons.

"Whoa! Take it easy there little lady," Torchwick said as two more of his compatriots ran forward, surrounding her.

Eyeing both sides, Blake reached up and yanked off her bow, revealing her cat ears.

"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum? Have you truly fallen so far as to ally yourself with this monster?!" she asked accusingly.

The Faunus lowered their weapons nonchalantly, while Torchwick merely laughed.

"Oh, kid. Didn't you get the memo?" he asked sarcastically.

"What are you talking about?" Blake retorted.

"Well, the White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together," he replied sardonically.

"Tell me what it is or I'll put and end to your little operation," Blake said, tightening her blade against his throat.

At that moment, another Bullhead flew in overhead.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation," he said with a smirk, surprisingly audible even over the roar of the Bullhead's engines.

With that, he pulled the the hidden trigger on his cane.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin and Velvet had been following a few clues when they heard the blast.

It wasn't a big explosion, but it was loud.

"What was that?" Delsin asked, the sound having shocked him.

"I'm not sure," Velvet replied, her head tilted in the direction of the noise, "It's hard to tell from just the sound."

Delsin started to look around, scanning both the immediate area, as well as the sky above for any indication as to the source of the blast. His eyes quickly caught on to the smoke billowing into the sky from somewhere south of them, and for just a moment something caught his eye.

A pair of pure white wings.

"Velvet, what's over that way?" he asked.

"The docks, I think," she replied.

Delsin switched to his Concrete power.

"Alright then," he said.

Without warning, he picked her up in his arms.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed.

"Hang on tight!" he said.

With that, he Boulder Dashed off.

 **O00000O00000O**

Blake stood in awe as the explosion enveloped her. Normally one would be afraid when staring into an oncoming barrage of fire and stone, but at just this moment, fear was nowhere to be found in her mind.

Of course, Alex standing in front of her probably had something to do with that.

The bird Faunus stood with his wings out stretched and a Glyph projected widely in front of him. The blast that normally would have shredded their Aura like tissue paper, simply stopped and passed around the two of them, like a river around a stone. When the blast subsided, Alex collapsed the Glyph and stared down his opponents.

"Hope you don't mind if I cut in. You were threatening my friend after all," Alex said, his eyes locked on Torchwick.

"Well, looks like the little kitty made friends with the bird. Isn't that cute," Torchwick replied.

He looked at his men.

"What are you waiting for?! Kill them!" he commanded.

His henchmen, including another four that had jumped out of the second Bullhead, charged. Alex quickly ate a Wind crystal, and stomped his foot. As his hair turned a light shade of green, and his foot touched the concrete, a huge gust of wind swept forward and knocked them back.

The goons with guns planted their feet and opened fire. Alex raised his hand and telekinetically blocked the shots, but there were a lot of them. Roman saw him start to buckle and raised his cane. The tip flipped open and he opened fire. Alex managed to catch the shot, which seemed to be just a jury-rigged round made from a much larger Dust crystal than most rounds commonly used.

But Torchwick wasn't done. He signaled the Bullhead pilots to open fire, and under a new hail of bullets, Alex's defense was crumbling. He raised a Glyph wide enough to cover them both, but that left them vulnerable to shots from the ground, as using telekinesis to catch bullets was a task that would take more focus then he could spare at the moment.

Blake had noticed and did her best to keep the close range guys off Alex's back. She was doing it very effectively, and when Sun joined them on the ground, no one could get near them. Unfortunately, many of the goons with guns had gotten smart and decided to stay at range. They were giving them a lot of trouble.

The four men with guns kept firing, and when Torchwick started firing alongside them, Alex almost took a Dust round in the chest.

"Monkey dude!" Alex shouted.

"Yeah?!" Sun replied over the concussive sound of his gun-chucks.

"You think you can take the big guy? We can't win like this!"

"Got it!"

Sun bolted off to deal with Torchwick, leaving Alex and Blake to deal with the other guys on the ground, more of which had been seemingly just popping up out of the woodwork.

Alex was about to say something when he noticed the guns had let up from above. He looked up to see chunks of concrete had torn through the barrel of the turrets on one of the Bullheads. He smiled. In the next moment, the remaining Bullhead stopped firing, the barrel having overheated. In that moment Alex dropped the Glyph and mustered every bit of magnetic and telekinetic force he could generate.

With one mighty swing, Alex levitated one of the shipping containers and sent it careening into the Bullhead that still had a working gun. The container slammed into the Bullhead and sent it crashing into the water. With that cleared up, Alex turned his attention back to the ground troops, just in time for a certain beanie sporting graffiti artist to land next to him.

"Took you long enough," Alex said as he unleashed a gust of wind and knocked down three advancing enemies.

"Well, you know I don't know the city all that well. Took me a while to find you," Delsin replied, unleashing a Concrete Barrage.

Blake fell back to regroup with Alex, only to be surprised by Delsin.

"Delsin? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Now's not really the time," Velvet said, her face a little green from Delsin's unorthodox travel arrangements. She pointed to the sky, calling their attention to the three new Bullheads on approach.

"She's right, we need to wrap this up now. Any ideas?" Alex asked, his joking manner gone in an instant.

"Yeah, you guys take the sky, we'll take the ground," Blake said.

"Sounds good to me," Delsin said.

"Yeah, but you may need to go help Monkey Boy. He'd having a bit of trouble with Torchwick," Alex said.

"Got it, now go!"

With that, Alex took off, Delsin right beside him.

They landed on the cockpit windshield of the first Bullhead.

"HI!" Alex said, waving.

While he had them distracted, Delsin punched through the glass with his Concrete-enhanced fist. From there, he unleashed another Concrete Barrage, aimed right at the control console. With the console destroyed, the pilots quickly abandoned the Bullhead. Delsin and Alex quickly followed suit.

They were about to hop to the next one when a beam of green energy sliced through them both. When they turned to find the source, they saw none other than Penny, standing cheerfully with a ring of swords around her, a shocked Ruby beside her, and a host of unconscious White Fang grunts surrounding her.

She smiled and waved at them, and they soon landed.

The assembled students regrouped, surrounded by the unconscious forms of over seventy White Fang troops.

"Well," Alex started, "I think that we might have managed to scare them off for good."

Blake shook her head.

"No, they'll be back," she said, "but next time, we'll be ready for them."

 **O00000O00000O**

When the fight was over, they called the police. They came and took the White Fang members into custody, Roman Torchwick having managed to slip away in the chaos. After that, they stuck around, though they wouldn't say why.

Weiss and Yang arrived soon after, having followed the sound of explosions. Blake tensed at Weiss's approach. She stood, ready to defend herself and apologize, but the moment she opened her mouth to speak, Weiss raised a hand to silence her. The heiress walked right past Ruby, who had jumped up to try and calm the sour mood of her partner and stopped directly in front of Blake.

Then, without a word, she pulled the cat Faunus into a hug and whispered: "I'm sorry."

Blake visibly untensed as she heard that. After a moment, the two parted. Alex then stepped up and walked over to Weiss, and this time it was her turn to tense, though she did a much better job of hiding it.

Alex didn't say a word. As he stood in front of Weiss and Yang, all the eyes of Team RWBY and his partner in the newly named Team CNDT (Conduit) on him, he simply looked at the heiress solemnly. Then he cracked a smile and gave her a big hug, the first time he had ever reacted positively to her presence.

"Much better," he said, just loud enough for her to hear.

The the rest of the people gathered all smiled, the somber mood of the evening now officially dissipated. Alex looked around to see that both Sun and Penny had disappeared, but at the moment he didn't care.

"So, now that everyone's done with all the hugging, are we all back together now?" Delsin asked.

Alex quickly grew a sly smile.

"Yeah, we are, but we are nowhere near done with the hugging," he said slyly.

Delsin took a step back.

"Don't you dare," he started.

"Group hug!" Alex shouted and he, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Velvet and even Weiss tackled him in a group hug. Delsin struggled a bit at first, but when he realized there was no way out, he surrendered. And so, for one brief moment, all of them were happy.

 **O00000O00000O**

After the fight ended, unbeknownst to anyone present, a security camera on one of the warehouses died softly.

Far away from it all, a man was suspended in the air just over a pool of fresh water.

The man had a shaved head and a scar around his right eye. He wore the tattered remains of a pair of navy pants and a white t-shirt in equally bad condition. Normally, he also wore a blank expression.

Not today.

Today, as he opened his left eye and shut down the security camera, a smile crept onto the man's face. It was his first smile in seven long years.

It had worked.

The man closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, checking the security system. No one was watching. He cut the feed and looped it, then returned his mind to the present moment.

"Let's try this again," he said, a southern drawl coloring his tone.

His eyes snapped open, and his entire body sparked with electricity.

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene was hurt. His powers were empty and his healing factor was at it's limit. As he stood there, barely breathing, he gave one last defiant look into the eyes of the DUP agents in front of him.

The leader smiled evilly.

"Finish him," the man said.

And as the shots rang out, Eugene closed his eyes and waited for the end.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! MANIACAL LAUGHTER! This was one of the chapters I really wanted to get to, and now we are finally out of Volume One! I tell you, I didn't sleep at all last night just to make up this fight scene. I really hope you enjoy it, especially the little something I left for you at the end.**

 **Other updates, we passed 100 followers, and guys, seriously, thank you so much for the support, it means a lot.**

 **Second, shout-out to TenWing for giving me the winning name. Congrats man.**

 **Finally, and arguably the most importantly...HYPE FOR VOLUME 5! Ok, enough with the excessive capital letters. But still, comment your hype!**

 **See you in Chapter 13!**


	13. Chapter 13

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 13: Otherworldly**

 **O00000O00000O**

 **Alright, we have one more action scene. For this one, I scored it to the soundtrack of the anime Boku no Hero Academia. Specifically, "Boku no Hero Academia OST – 01 'You Say Run'."**

 **Enjoy : )**

 **O00000O00000O**

 _Tick. Tick. Tick._

Delsin's eyes were locked firmly on the clock. So were the eyes of every other student in the class. And who could blame them? It was five minutes until the last bell rang, signaling not only the end of the school day but the end of the current semester.

Meanwhile, Dr. Oobleck was giving one of his famously long-winded and fast-moving lectures, though even he was more than ready for the day to be over. Believe it or not, teachers do have lives outside the classroom.

And so, when the clock showed that there were three minutes left, Dr. Oobleck spoke up.

"Attention class, if I could just get your attention for one more minute," he said in his usual manner.

Everyone in the room just barely managed to break their eyes away from the clock.

"While I'm sure you all enjoyed my lecture, I think here is a good place to stop. There will be more than enough to discuss when classes resume in the Spring," he began.

He smiled.

"Class dismissed."

For a moment, the entire room went still, because no one was sure they had heard him right. Then, as soon as that moment passed, most of the students were falling over themselves trying to be the first one out the door. Delsin saw a few rose petals float past, meaning Ruby had probably already managed to escape. Either way, it was still funny to watch.

"Hey Delsin," Alex said, pointing at their teacher.

"Hm?"

Delsin turned to look at Dr. Oobleck. He was using a book to hide the fact that he was filming his students as they struggled to get out of the room, a small smile on his face. Delsin smiled and walked up to him.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you Professor?" he asked.

"Doctor," he corrected, before turning to his student and saying in the most unconvincing tone "And I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Riiiiight."

At that moment, Delsin felt his Scroll buzz.

 _"Great, another message from Oz. What does he want now?"_

He opened it.

 _ **"Delsin, I need you to come to my office right away. We have a situation that may need your skills."**_

 __Delsin sighed.

 _ **"I'll be right there."**_

 _ **"Good. And you may wish to bring your partner as well."**_

 _ **"Fine."**_

 __Delsin put his Scroll away then searched the room for Alex. He found his partner sitting with the rest of Team RWBY while they laughed at the massive pileup at the door.

"Yo, Oz wants us in his office," he explained.

"What's going on?" Yang asked.

"I don't know, it's probably nothing," Delsin replied, "We should still probably go."

Alex sighed and stood up.

"He's right," Alex said lazily.

They both turned and walked up the stairs to the back of the classroom. Without a word, Delsin released a Cinder Blast on the wall, destroying a huge chunk of it, more than enough space for them to walk through. They walked through the opening as both Professor Port (whose classroom they had entered) and Dr. Oobleck watched, both of their mouths agape. Alex raised a hand and resealed the wallwith his telekinesis, and both of them silently walked off to the elevator to Oz's office.

 **O00000O00000O**

When they arrived, they found Ozpin with his head in his hands. They both approached wordlessly and sat down across from him. Without moving his hands, Ozpin spoke.

"I know you are teenagers and the semester just ended, and that brings with it a degree of frivolity, but must you always vandalize Beacon Academy property every time it strikes your fancy? First, there was the vending machine incident-"

"Not my fault!" Delsin interrupted.

"And now you destroy one of the walls to my classrooms! Why?"

Alex shrugged.

"The doorway was blocked. Besides, I fixed the wall."

Ozpin sighed.

"Anyway," he said, trying to move on, "That's not why I asked you here."

His demeanor shifted completely, and Alex and Delsin's did in response.

"According to reports I just received, approximately half an hour ago, many of the electronic defenses set up along the northern edge of Vale experienced a suspicious amount of interference, far outside the norm for any equipment malfunctions or power fluctuations. Then, less than ten seconds later, the interference was gone."

Delsin just stared at him.

"And your point is...?" Alex asked.

"Delsin, on the night of your arrival, I checked every report filed to track your activities, this being before you came and found me on your own. That same night, a report was filed from a defense station not far from where you landed that met most of these exact circumstances. Same data, same time frame, down to the nanosecond."

Delsin's eyes widened slowly.

"You think someone else crossed over," Delsin surmised.

"Correct, and as such, it would be best if you could investigate. If someone came through with abilities like yours, our borders are woefully unequipped to deal with that particular kind of firepowershould they lash out."

Delsin and Alex stood up.

"Understood," Delsin said.

"Good. I've made arrangements for a Bullhead to transport you to the border station where the interference occurred. It will meet you at the Airbus station in ten minutes," Ozpin said.

The two of them turned and in moments they were gone.

 **O00000O00000O**

The ride was quick.

Delsin and Alex hopped out of the Bullhead, only three minutes having passed since they boarded. After a brief introduction with the guards stationed at the border, they were left to their own devices.

"This place look familiar?" Alex asked.

Delsin looked around.

"Yeah. This is where I came in," he replied.

The two of them walked forward, passing right through the security checkpoint and into the Forest of Forever Fall.

"So, what now?" Alex asked.

"I guess we go look. We're about an hour from where I landed, so starting there sounds like a good idea."

"That an hour by foot?"

"At a run. Maybe less if we really book it. At least, that's what the waypoint I set in my Scroll says."

Alex reached into his pockets and withdrew another in a long line of Lightning Crystals. He opened his mouth and swallowed it whole; his hair took on its usual shade of yellow.

"Where do you keep getting those? Dust ain't exactly cheap and you go through those crystals like candy."

"My family lives on a huge Dust deposit on what's left of our homeland in Vytal. Once a monththey send me a shipment of Crystals that they pull up," Alex explained.

"Huh. Cool."

"Now is that it or are we gonna stand here all day while I go through my entire life's story?"

"Alright, I get it, let's go."

The two of them took off, trails of Neon and electric rose petals behind them.

 **O00000O00000O**

After an hour running, they arrived at the site of the crossover.

"Ok, that is definitely not what I remember this place looking like," Delsin said.

Given that instead of tranquil forest land, he found himself instead standing at the edge of a crater, that was a rather mild reaction.

"Ok, so we know _something_ happened here," Alex commented.

"Gee, as if the _giant hole in the ground_ wasn't enough of a giveaway," Delsin replied sarcastically.

Alex chuckled a bit at that.

"So, now what?" Alex asked.

Just then, something in the crater caught Delsin's eye.

"Hang on."

He jumped into the crater and slid down to the center of it. Now that he was there, he got a closer look at the object and found it was a red and grey striped hoodie, with blue bands between each stripe. He couldn't help but feel he had seen it before.

"What is it?" Alex called.

"See for yourself," Delsin replied, holding the jacket out to him.

Alex breathed in sharply.

"Delsin, look at the inside," he said flatly.

Curious, Delsin checked the inside, wondering what his partner was talking about.

That was when he saw the blood.

As he took in the sight of that red blotch, the memories of where he'd seen the jacket before flooded into his mind. Without a word, he bolted off, the jacket still in his hand. After recovering from the brief bit of shock, Alex tried to catch up, but Delsin was a lot faster than him when he didn't have a lightning crystal in his system.

Alex followed as Delsin raced through the forest in an ever-expanding circle, searching desperately for the owner of the jacket. He chased after as best he could, and ten minutes later Alex nearly crashed into his partner's back when the Conduit found what he was looking for.

"Alex, call for a rescue," Delsin said quickly.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked.

"Just make the call!"

Alex pulled out his scroll and dialed up the border security base. Within minutes a rescue vehicle had arrived. Alex had to telekinetically lift Delsin and the person he was carrying as there wasn't enough room for the Bullhead to land. Alex himself flew up to the passenger hatch. As he sat down, he heard Delsin say something, though he could barely make it out over the roar of the engine.

"Hang in there Eugene. Everything's gonna be alright."

 **O00000O00000O**

Twenty minutes later, Eugene was lying on a hospital bed in the infirmary. Delsin was sitting next to him, patiently waiting. Alex stuck around with him for a while but soon left to give his partner some space. After a while, there was a knock on the door. Delsin looked up to see Ozpin, quietly standing just inside the room.

Delsin said nothing. Ozpin frowned and walked up next to him.

"His name's Eugene Sims," Delsin said, a full minute later.

"I take it he's from your world then," Ozpin replied.

"Yeah," Delsin confirmed, his eyes still locked on his friend's unconscious form.

"Is he like you?"

"Yeah. He's a Conduit."

Ozpin picked up the medical chart on the end of the bed.

"From the looks of his injuries, it appears he was shot several times," Ozpin said.

Delsin's head drooped a bit

"Hold on, I thought you said that all Conduits possessed superhuman regenerative healing abilities. Shouldn't he be awake by now if that were the case?" Ozpin asked.

Delsin sighed.

"Eugene is different. Yeah, he's got the fast-healing like all Conduits, but..." Delsin said, trailing off at the end.

"But what?"

Delsin took a deep breath.

"But, when Augustine had him in captivity, she and some of her cronies experimented on him, forcing his powers past what they were supposed to go to. She kept on pushing him and pushing him, and even though his Video powers got a whole hell of a lot stronger, his body was cracking under the stress. His healing power got weaker, so he takes a lot longer to recover."

"I see," Ozpin said.

He placed a hand on Delsin's shoulder.

"They're serving lunch in the cafeteria. Why don't you go get something to eat? I'll make sure the nurse informs you if there are any changes to his condition," Ozpin suggested.

Delsin nodded a moment later.

Slowly, he stood up and walked to the door. With one last look to his friend, Delsin walked out of the room.

After he was gone, and Ozpin was sure he was alone, he took Eugene's hand.

"You mean a great deal to that young man Mr. Sims, and he is likely the best hope Remnant has of surviving what Salem has planned. So, that being said, I hope you don't mind if I help you along a bit. I do apologize if this hurts at all."

With that, Ozpin closed his eyes, and light began to envelop the room.

 **O00000O00000O**

In the cafeteria, Delsin was quietly picking at his lunch, not really hungry at the moment. His friends had invited him to their table, but he wasn't feeling particularly social either. After a while, he stood up to throw away what was left of his food.

"Delsin?" a voice said quietly from behind him.

Delsin turned to find Velvet looking at him, a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied softly, wanting to end the conversation quickly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"O- Ok.."

Delsin walked away, leaving Velvet alone. If he had seen the look on her face, he would have seen that she wanted to say more and that she knew that whatever he was, he was definitely nowhere close to fine.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin was taking a walk around the campus when he got a message on his scroll.

 _ **"Your friend is awake, please get here quick!"**_ the nurse said.

Delsin shot off with his Neon power, racing through the campus. He ran to the infirmary, happy to hear his friend was awake.

He was a lot less happy when he arrived.

The infirmary was a mess. Cabinets were broken, tables and supply carts overturned, and both the IV tree and the actual _bed_ were split in half. The worst part was Eugene himself. He was standing over the nurse, one of his Digital Longswords in his hand.

The Video Conduit, distraught in finding himself in a place reminiscent of where he was kept for two years, hefted his sword up over his head, preparing to bring it down on the nurse's head. Delsin shook off his shock and surged forward. As the sword descended, Delsin intercepted with his Stasis Shield. Blue and purple sparks flew from the point of contact.

"Eugene! What are you doing?!" Delsin screamed.

Eugene's face contorted in rage.

"I don't know who you are, but you have some nerve trying to use the face of my dead friend against me!" he shouted.

"What are you talking about, it's me, dumb ass!" Delsin countered pleadingly.

"Shut up!"

Eugene raised his sword and swung again. Delsin's shield held firm, but only barely. He turned to look at the nurse hiding behind him.

"Go!" he yelled, "Get out of here!"

The nurse bolted for the door and quickly escaped. After he was sure she was gone, Delsin turned his attention back to his friend.

"If you won't listen, I guess I'll just have to beat it into you!" Delsin shouted.

Eugene's eyes flare blue.

"I'd like to see you try."

 **O00000O00000O**

 **(Music starts here)**

Delsin landed in the courtyard. The gargantuan form of He Who Dwells followed him, and landed, standing over him.

"YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF STANDING BEFORE HE WHO DWELLS, AND WILL PAY DEARLY FOR DEFILING THE FACE OF MY FRIEND!" Eugene bellowed.

"I ever tell you how much of an asshole you sound like when you talk like that?" Delsin retorted.

Delsin switched to his Concrete power and used his Concrete launch to hurl himself upward. The massive angel swung his sword, but Delsin avoided it and landed on the blade. He quickly jumped off again and unleashed a barrage of concrete shrapnel on the angel's head. He landed on one of the pillars making up the surrounding arcade and He Who Dwells swung at him again. The sword destroyed the pillar, but Delsin managed to jump away again.

The angel raised his other arm and called up a small host of his holy Wingmen. The human-sized angels began to swarm around their summoner, and rain beams of light upon Delsin. Delsin broke into a Boulder Dash and evaded all of the beams perfectly. He silently thanked Glynda for all of those harsh combat classes and when there was an opening, unleashed a Concrete Barrage on the Wingmen, taking out almost all of them.

As Delsin rolled to a stop and his concrete armor fell away, he stared down the fifty-foot angel.

"You wanna play like that? Fine. Let's see how you like it!" he shouted, switching to his Video power.

Delsin spread his arms and not one, not two, but _three_ Wingmen of his own sprang forth. Then he raised his left arm and pointed it at Eugene's chest. Eugene was in the middle of replenishing his hoard of angels and didn't notice the green glow on his chest.

As the Bloodthirsty Blades formed, Delsin yelled.

"Fire!"

His own angels opened fire on Eugene, and as the Blade Flurry connected, so did their attack.

"GAH!" the giant angel cried, the force of the combined attacks forcing him to stagger back a bit.

Then Delsin pressed further. He switched to his Smoke power and lobbed out over a dozen of his Cinder Grenades. As the bombs went off and He Who Dwells fell to one knee, Delsin surged forward, releasing several smoke shots on his way.

As he approached, Eugene's rage grew. The blue hue to his image slowly shifted to a violent red as he let out a deep growl. When Delsin was close, he snapped even more.

"ENOUGH!" Eugene shouted.

The angel spread his wings and punched the ground. The effect was an almost perfect copy of Delsin's Ground Smash as a wave of red Video energy blasted outward, destroying a large area of the courtyard and sending Delsin flying.

As Delsin careened through the air, unable to get any kind of control, he smashed into the courtyard's central fountain. He sank down, resting on the leg of the Grimm depicted in the statue. He was dazed from the impact and He Who Dwells stood up. With fire dancing along his features, he brought his hands together in a pose reminiscent of the classic _Hadouken_ pose.

"NOW YOU WILL TASTE MY LIGHT!"

Delsin was still disoriented. He tried to move out of the way, or at least get behind something, but he couldn't get his feet under him. Through his haze, he could hear the power of the beam building. The light of it became blinding and he closed his eyes, all while still trying to move out of the way.

He heard the beam fire.

When the next thing he heard wasn't a chorus of heavenly angels, Delsin's eyes snapped open.

He saw a series of Glyphs between him and the beam. He turned his head to see both Weiss and a red-haired Alex with their hands outstretched. Behind him, Yang was on the pedestal standing in front of the Huntsman statue. Blake stood above him on the head of the Grimm. Ruby was next to her sister, wielding Crescent Rose in sniper rifle form. Then he heard a voice.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get up and fight back!"

He turned to see Coco, the source of the voice, standing beside him.

Velvet approached on the other side.

"Here, let me help," she said, holding out her hand.

Delsin's mind snapped back into focus.

"We know this is your fight," Velvet began, "So we won't stop you."

"We'll back you up from here. You go knock some sense into that guy," Ruby continued.

"What are you waiting for dumbass? Move!" Alex yelled.

Delsin smiled. With Velvet's help, he rose. He switched to his Neon power.

"You got it."

He shot off, shattering his old top speed by more than double. As the beam died, Alex and Weiss dropped their Glyphs.

"Fire!" Alex yelled.

In a hail of bullets and fireballs, Delsin rapidly closed on his friend. When he was only a few feet away, he switched to his Video power. He activated his wings and surged up the giant angel's form. With a hand outstretched, Delsin summoned his sword and gripped it with both hands.

When he reached Eugene's head, he smiled.

"You might wanna grit your teeth!" he shouted.

With that, Delsin swung his sword straight into the giant's head.

As the blade connected, the impact shattered the angel's form, returning him to the usual Eugene. The Video Conduit was still angry and activated his own wings to try and stabilize his fall, but Delsin kept on him. Delsin dropped his sword and surged forward again, punching Eugene in the gut.

The two of them fell to the ground, each landing several feet apart. Eugene managed to catch himself at the last second, as did Delsin, and both of them ended up on their feet. Eugene unloaded on him, releasing a seemingly unending wave of Video Torrent. Delsin returned in kind.

Eugene roared, his anger all but consuming him at this point, and unleashed his Bloodthirsty Blades. Delsin again responded in kind, then immediately Cloaked. As their Blades met and exploded into pixels, Eugene surged upwards. He unleashed another barrage of Bloodthirsty Blades, this time locked onto an immobile Delsin.

He didn't see the trick.

As his Blades made contact, they passed right through the Decoy Delsin in time for three Wingmen to close in on him. While they kept him distracted, Delsin switched to his Water power. With every ounce of his power, Delsin built up power for his latest Karma Bomb.

Water began to pool about him, coming from both from his outstretched hand as well as all of the surrounding sources. Then it began to circle around his feet.

"Sorry Eugene, but I gotta hurt you to help you," he said.

He took the water and built it up to a ten-foot circle. Then with a flourish and a spin, he sent it careening to his friend.

"Waterspout!" Delsin shouted.

By the time Eugene had dealt with the Wingmen, it was too late. The cyclone slammed into him with the force of a five hundred pound hammer. His wings shattered and he went flying into one of the pillars that were still standing. With that, he went out like a light.

 **(Here's where the music ends)**

 **O00000O00000O**

The next several hours passed in a blur.

The incident in the courtyard was somehow largely unnoticed, though no one was quite sure how, and Ozpin wouldn't say a word. The repairs would be keeping Alex, Glynda, as well as an outside construction crew busy for the next several days.

When they returned to the infirmary, Alex and Glynda fixed everything up. The nurse from earlier was fine, but she would be taking a few days off to recover from the trauma, so a new nurse had been called in. They got Eugene situated back in his newly repaired bed, then, by Delsin's own recommendation, sedated him.

"Will he be alright?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Delsin responded.

"It is understandable, though unfortunate, that he was in such an agitated state. You were as well when you arrived, if you recall," Ozpin said.

"I remember."

"We'll wake him again in a few days. For now, I suggest we let him sleep."

"Yeah. You're probably right," Delsin said.

"Agreed," Alex said.

Ozpin and Alex turned and left. Delsin stayed behind and took one last look at his friend.

 _"See ya later buddy."_

 **CHAPTER END**

 **And so, the plot thickens.**

 **You know, to be honest, I didn't even want to put a fight scene in this chapter. It was actually my utter pacifist mother's idea if you can believe it. Either way, you guys are in for a very exposition heavy chapter in two weeks when we learn how things have turned out in Seattle since Delsin's disappearance.**

 **Anyway, remember to review follow and favorite, and I will see you again in two weeks.**

 **Also, I have a First membership so any of you who want RWBY Volume 5 spoilers, feel free to ask and I'll tell you.**


	14. Chapter 14

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 14: Revelations**

 **O00000O00000O**

A few days later, Alex and Delsin were standing outside Eugene's hospital room where the Video Conduit was still sedated and unconscious. Ozpin walked in.

"Everything is ready. We had it prepared just as you specified," Ozpin said.

Delsin turned back to him.

"Ok. Then I guess we're ready," Delsin said.

"Good. I will have the nurse discontinue the sedative."

Ozpin opened the door and went inside.

"You sure you don't wanna do this yourself?" Alex asked.

"If he wakes up and sees me, he'll bust out and start destroying the school trying to kill me. Again," Delsin replied.

"So why Ozpin?"

"You try keeping secrets from Ozpin. Go on, I dare you."

"Point taken."

Ozpin reemerged.

"Alright, the sedative should be out of his system in half an hour," the professor said.

"Great. Let's get started," Delsin replied.

The three of them went into the room. Alex telekinetically disconnected Eugene's IV as well as all of the restraints that tied him to the hospital bed. Delsin followed and lifted Eugene off the bed in both arms. Ozpin held the door as the two of them exited, he himself following just behind them.

In ten minutes they had arrived at the newly constructed interrogation room.

Over the last few days, Ozpin had brought in a construction crew to build it while Glynda and Alex repaired the courtyard. With Delsin's help, it was designed so that even a Conduit couldn't escape. Reinforced steel doors, three foot thick concrete walls with a layer of steel mixed in every foot. The observation window was three inches of unbreakable glass. Ozpin had wanted to put in a securitycamera, but Delsin had voted against it on the off chance Eugene could enter the video stream and escape that way. For that very same reason, the entire room was a dead-zone where the CCT system couldn't reach. Delsin wanted to make sure Eugene couldn't get out.

Ozpin opened the door. Delsin followed and sat Eugene's unconscious form at the table. Then he quickly attached a set of restraints to his hands and sped out of the room. When Eugene woke up, Delsin didn't want to be anywhere near him.

The Conduit walked into the observation room where his partner was waiting for him.

"So, now we wait?" Alex asked.

"Now we wait."

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene was feeling very groggy as his eyes slowly crept open.

As he slowly returned to consciousness, he tried to stretch his arms but found he couldn't move them. He looked down at his wrists to find them locked in heavy-duty steel cuffs and latched to a table. His eyes snapped the rest of the way open and he jerked from the table, though he didn't get very far before he fell back down into his chair.

"I apologize for the restraints, but seeing as you destroyed a large portion of my school, I believe they are a necessary precaution," A voice said.

Eugene looked up to see a man sitting across from him. He quickly searched his memory to see if he knew the man but found nothing.

 _"Whoever he is, maybe if I keep him talking I can find a way to break out of here,"_ he thought.

"Where am I?" Eugene asked.

"A room designed so that we may talk safely," the man replied.

"You think this room can hold someone like me?"

"A Conduit you mean?"

Eugene nodded.

"I should hope so. We did check."

Eugene sat back.

"So, who are you? Some kind of new DUP agent?"

"DUP... That would be the Department of Unified Protection correct?" the man asked.

That got Eugene's attention.

" _Has this guy not heard of the DUP?"_ he thought.

"No, I'm not with them. As I said, this is a school, not a government building."

"A school?" Eugene asked, his subtle attempts to break out of his restraints momentarily ending.

"Yes. A school where I train students to master their abilities and help people."

"So you're what, a Professor Charles Xavier that still has his hair?"

The man glanced at the observation window and smiled slightly.

"While I have no idea who that is, I was told you would make that comparison. I was also told to say yes."

 **O00000O00000O**

"Who's Professor Charles Xavier?" Alex asked.

"Do you really care?" Delsin countered.

"Not really no."

"Then why did you ask?"

Alex shrugged.

Delsin sighed.

"Just shut up and pay attention."

 **O00000O00000O**

"Mr. Sims, when you were found, you had been shot six times in the chest. Could you explain to me how that happened?" the man asked.

Eugene just looked at him.

"You don't know?" the Conduit asked.

"Know what?"

"About the DUP resurgence," Eugene continued.

A troubled look passed over the man's face.

"No, I did not know about that, but it sounds very serious. Please, go on."

 **O00000O00000O**

The moment Eugene uttered the words "DUP resurgence," Delsin's eyes widened.

"DUP... those are the Conduit hunter guys, right?" Alex asked.

Delsin cleared his throat. It was a trick he'd learned back in Seattle when he was learned his powers wouldn't solve every problem. It let him buy a moment or two to collect himself when recovering from bad news.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's bad," he said, his face in his hand, "Means things fell apart after I disappeared. Means I didn't do a good enough job."

Alex looked back to the window.

 **O00000O00000O**

"Three months ago, my best friend vanished. No signs of a struggle in his home, no note saying where he'd gone, nothing. Me and Fetch checked around the entire city, even his hometown. Not a trace. After a couple weeks, we gave up. We had a funeral service on the Akomish reservation, his home. Then things started to fall apart," Eugene began.

The man across from him took a sip from his mug, then placed it back on the table.

"Go on," the man said.

"After the funeral, the two of us made the announcement. Looking back, it probably would have been better if we'd just made up some kind of story about how he'd left to go free more Conduits or something. The whole city was in shock, but for a while everything was fine. It didn't last for more than a few days.

"Curdun Cay was a terrible place, no question, but that doesn't mean that at least some of the Conduits locked up there didn't deserve it. Without Delsin to keep them in line, a lot those Conduits started running amok.

"First, it was just some of your run of the mill stuff, like purse-snatchings and muggings. Fetch and I could handle that well enough. Then they started getting together and making a bigger mess.Pretty soon, the two of us were outnumbered, and there's only so much two Conduits can do when they're up against a dozen other Conduits, and since all of the other Conduits just wanted to get back to their normal lives, we were it.

"We fought for almost an hour the first time. The next time the cops came to help us. Hell, even the gangsters came to help us eventually because they didn't want the competition, but it didn't help much. We were struggling to keep the collateral damage under control, and with street battles becoming a daily occurrence, the damage was starting to add up. Then, the unthinkable happened."

Eugene took a deep breath before continuing. If his pained expression was any indication, the next part was going to be tough for him.

"During one of our fights, one of the enemy Conduits had psychic abilities. He used them to worm his way into Fetch's head, find her breaking point," he continued.

Another deep breath.

"We can take a moment if you would like," the man offered, a faint look of concern on his face.

Eugene shook his head, though his eyes were starting to tear up.

"He got in her head and made her relive the moment when she killed her brother. He thought it would break her," he said.

A single tear fell from his eye.

"He was right. In her rage, in that moment where she was forced to relive her most painful memory, she snapped. She used every bit of her power and threw a Singularity at them, one that was easily twice as big as she normally could have made. The massive ball of Neon energy destroyed everything it touched. Cars. Buildings. Even people. When it exploded, it leveled an entire block of downtown Seattle.

"Without a word, one of the cops shot Fetch in the head. She was dead before she hit the ground."

 **O00000O00000O**

On the other side of the mirror, Delsin sank to the ground, his face in his hands.

"You ok?" Alex asked.

He reached out to try and comfort his partner, but Delsin slapped his hand away.

Alex only saw it for a brief moment, but that was all it took.

Delsin was crying.

 **O00000O00000O**

"The whole city was against us now. Pretty soon, the DUP came back into town and started rounding up Conduits all over again. I tried to stop them, but I was one guy against an entire city, and a small army of soldiers with guns and Conduit powers," Eugene continued.

A small stream of tears was falling from his eyes, and his face became distorted in anger

"They forced me to run like a coward. I couldn't do anything. The DUP hunted me for days."

He clenched his fists.

"Just when I finally thought I had escaped, I was surrounded. I fought with everything I had, and I killed as many as I could, but there were always more. When I couldn't fight anymore, I fell to the ground and they shot me. That's the last thing I remember."

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin sat there on the floor of the observation room, not moving. On the inside, his emotions were running wild.

Fear. Anger. Sorrow. Hatred. Confusion. Despair. All of these were welling up inside him, but he just couldn't take it. He slammed his fist into the wall, cracking it.

"Whoa! Delsin, calm down!" Alex shouted.

Delsin wasn't listening. Instead, he slowly stood up, his face blank. Without a word, he wiped his face on his sleeve and walked out of the room. Alex didn't stop him. There wasn't anything for him to do.

 **O00000O00000O**

When Delsin left the room, he didn't know where he was going, but he wasn't surprised when he found himself on the roof of the dorms. High places had always felt safe for him. It was one of the reasons he'd learned how to free-climb in the first place.

While he laid on his back with his hand on his brother's badge, he played back everything he had just heard.

Seattle was in pieces.

Conduits were being hunted again.

The DUP had come back.

All that, and Fetch was dead.

Everything that he had done, everything he had worked for. All of it was gone, and all it took was a few months. Had he been in a more humorous mood, he might have found it comical how quickly it all went to shit. Instead, he simply sat there, staring at the sky.

In the background, he half heard the rooftop door opening.

"Delsin?" a quiet voice asked.

He didn't hear.

"Delsin!" the voice called.

This time, he heard it. He tilted his head back to see who was there. His eyes fell on to the visage of a certain brown haired rabbit Faunus. He said nothing and moved his head back. A small part of him felt bad for not saying anything, but he genuinely had no idea what to say.

Velvet didn't know what to make of his expression, but she walked forward and sat down next to him.

"You ok?" she asked.

Still no response.

 _"I'll take that as a no,"_ she thought.

Velvet gave him a small, friendly smile, then turned away. He would talk when he was ready.

She was right. For over an hour, she sat next to him. And then, he spoke.

"Why did you come looking for me?" he asked.

Velvet smiled again.

"Ozpin messaged everyone, asking if anyone had seen you. I was about to say no when I heard the door to the roof close. I had a hunch, and there you were," she explained.

"Hm. Good instincts," Delsin commented.

"Thank you," she said.

Strangely enough, this time, when Velvet had the urge to keep talking and press just a little bit harder, it was easy. It was like the words just bubbled up ready and waiting, and she felt no hesitation at all.

"Delsin, what's wrong?" she asked.

The Conduit turned away.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said.

Velvet frowned a bit.

"I know you don't _want_ to. Nobody _wants_ to talk about things that hurt The point is, you obviously _need_ to," she said.

He said nothing. Velvet's frown deepened slightly.

"If you're giving me the silent treatment to get me to leave you alone, it's not going to work. Fox does the same thing and it's never worked. I'm not leaving."

They sat there again. For just over forty minutes, neither of them said a word. Then, Delsin gave up.

"You sure you wanna know?" he asked.

Velvet nodded.

"Well alright."

He sat up.

"Where should I start?"

 **O00000O00000O**

It was a long tale. It took him a few hours to explain it all.

He started with his past. The truth about where he was from. Then he told her the truth about who and what he was. She took it surprisingly well, though he suspected that she knew at least a little bit of what he was telling her before he started. Even his time in Seattle barely phased her, though she did cringe a bit when he got to the more… graphic parts.

When he was done, she turned away, her gaze drifting to the horizon.

"So when you said you knew how it felt to be put down for what you were, you weren't just saying that were you?" she asked.

"No. No, I wasn't," he replied, a small smirk on his face.

Velvet smiled.

"So, what made you come up here?" she asked.

Delsin sighed.

"You remember that big angel dude from a couple days ago?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"He's a Conduit, like me. He's from my world."

"Well, that sounds like a reason to celebrate! You get to see an old friend again!"

"Yeah, you're right, it should be frickin' awesome. But apparently, when I disappeared, he got left behind and tried and keep going with what I'd been doing."

"And?"

Delsin took a deep breath, "And apparently everything went to hell in a hand-basket. Everything I'd done. Everything I'd built. All of it went up in smoke."

"Oh."

"And to top off the misery sundae, one of the best friends I had in my world is dead. So all in all, not a great day."

Velvet placed a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, Delsin, I'm so sorry," she said, placing that hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks," he said, placing his hand on hers.

"But wait, why did he attack you? That doesn't make sense," she said after a moment.

Delsin sighed.

"He thoroughly believed I was dead, and with everything that's happened to him since I left, he thought some other not-so-nice Conduit was disguising themselves as me to get to him."

"That's possible?"

"I mean, it's not _impossible,_ or anything I guess."

"Well go talk to him! He needs to know it's really you!"

"Velvet, if I go see him again, he's probably just gonna go on another rampage and destroy even more of the school! They just fixed everything too!"

"But if you don't go talk to him he's going to sit there and be in pain thinking his friend is dead! You have to go!" she said, pleadingly.

He turned, his mouth open to speak, but when he saw the heart-meltingly adorable look on her face, his words caught in his throat and then immediately evaporated. He sighed, his will to argue gone.

"Fine. I'll go talk to him," he said, relenting.

Velvet only smiled.

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene was still sitting in the interrogation room. The man, who had since introduced himself as Professor Ozpin, had left a while ago without saying why. Once he was gone, Eugene tried to use his powers to get out of the room, but as Ozpin had said, they didn't do him much good. Whoever had built this place had certainly had the right idea. He couldn't even break out of the shackles keeping him stuck to the table.

When the door opened again, he was expecting Ozpin back. That's not what he got.

Delsin walked in without a word. Eugene felt his anger rising, but when he took off his jacket to reveal a Sheriff's badge, a chill ran up his spine as his anger all but vanished. Delsin placed the badge on the table, then sat in the chair across from him.

It took him a moment, but Eugene managed to get the badge in his hand. He turned it over and over, he inspected it every which way he could. The conclusion was obvious. It was definitely Reggie's badge.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, still skeptical.

"You helped me find it. You and me had Wingmen searching the area for two days. We finally found it floating on the surface, a few feet from one of the leftover pillars from the island," Delsin replied.

Eugene sat back. His brain simply couldn't form words. Delsin reached forward and undid the cuffs. Eugene absentmindedly rubbed his wrist where they had been, his brain still basically short-circuiting.

"Look. Whatever happened after I disappeared, I'm sorry you had to go through that. If I'd had any choice in the matter, I wouldn't have left. But after I woke up that morning, I was just here. No warning, no nothing, I was just here."

A small part of Eugene heard and processed that information. That small part pushed through and asked a question.

"Here? What do you mean 'here'?" he asked.

Delsin sighed.

"Right. I told Oz not to say anything about that," he said.

"About what?"

Delsin took a deep breath.

"Eugene, do you remember what you told me after you got me to binge-watch The Flash on Netflix?" Delsin asked, "When they were dealing with that guy in the black suit with the blue lightning?"

"Zoom."

"Yeah, that guy. Do you remember what we talked about?"

Eugene searched back in his memories for that moment. When he got there, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"A parallel Earth?" he said, just above a whisper.

"Yeah. Only here, it's not Earth. It's Remnant."

Eugene's mind was still racing. A new world? Who wouldn't be confused? But the more he thought about it, the more he looked back through the few memories he had of being here, the more the pieces fit together. After two minutes, in his mind, it may not have been certain that he was in a new world, but it was at least plausible.

But all that aside, with everything the two of them had talked about, Eugene felt one thing. It was one thing he hadn't let himself believe because it just hurt too much to hope for it.

"It's really you, isn't it?" Eugene asked, his voice shaking.

Delsin smiled.

"C'mon. You know anyone else who looks this good?"

In that moment, Eugene no longer cared if the Delsin in front of him was the one he'd lost or an imposter, wearing his face. It just felt good to finally have his friend back.

 **O00000O00000O**

A while later, Delsin carried Eugene back to his and Alex's room. After their little talk, they'd spent a few hours catching up, but pretty soon, Eugene had talked himself out. The rush of emotions he'd experienced really knocked him out, so Delsin brought him in and placed him on one of the beds in their room.

With Ozpin's permission, Eugene was going to be a new addition to Team CNDT. Of course, that was conditional on him passing a small combat evaluation to make up for him not attending initiation. That meant that he and Delsin were going to have to train.

After he'd set him down, Delsin himself plopped down on his own bed, after he took a moment to separate the two. But with a smile, he pulled out his Scroll and opened a conversation with Velvet.

 _ **"Hey. Just wanted to say thank you. You were right,"**_ he said.

 _ **"You're welcome. Anytime,"**_ she replied, _ **"How is he?"**_

 _ **"He's fine. Took him a minute, but he's feeling a lot better. And so am I."**_

 _ **"I'm glad."**_

The two of them kept talking until Delsin fell asleep, his heart and mind finally at ease.

 **O00000O00000O**

Far away, Joseph Bertrand was not happy. He walked through the halls of Salem's palace and quickly arrived at the conference hall.

The entire group was assembled, or rather, all but one. The one that was missing was on her way to Vale. Either way, Bertrand quickly entered, his displeasure written plainly across his face.

"Ah, Mr. Bertrand. How fares your investigation?" Salem asked.

Bertrand stopped at the edge of the table and pulled out his Scroll.

"Unfortunately, it seems the reports of a Conduit appearing in Remnant, specifically the Kingdom of Vale, are true. While there was no conclusive information to be found in Rintah, I did a secondary investigation of the kingdom itself."

He placed his Scroll on the table. An image sprang up, projected in 3D from the scroll. It was an image of two hands, holding a city.

"It seems a vigilante has been running around Vale stopping crimes with powers that no normal person can use. He leaves this image spray-painted on a building near every crime he intervenes in. They're calling him-"

"The Banner Man," a female voice said.

Salem turned to the woman who spoke.

"You know of him?" she asked.

Brooke Augustine leaned forward, her elbows on the table in front of her.

"Yes. I know a thing or two."

 **CHAPTER END**


	15. Chapter 15

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 15: Training Day**

 **O00000O00000O**

"You ready?" Delsin asked.

"I guess," Eugene answered.

"Well alright. Let's get started!" Delsin shouted.

The two of them raised their hands and summoned one Digital Longsword.

Alex walked forward. He did one last check of the arena to make sure everything was in order, then checked the spectator seating to make sure Teams RWBY and JNPR were both seated back far enough in case things got…explosive. Again.

It happened a lot.

"Ok, one last run through of the rules, then we'll get underway," he began.

He pulled out his Scroll to double check the rules as Ozpin had written them.

"This is to be melee combat training, in preparation for a melee combat evaluation to be held in three days time. As such, in this practice match, there are to be no long-range attacks, maneuvers, or moves. There are to be no summonings or transformations, with the exception of summoning weapons in hand and in hand only, or changing the form of weapons in hand already. Any violation of these rules will result in immediate disqualification.

"Additionally, if at any point I determine that either participant has taken enough damage such as to render them unfit for battle, I can and will call the match off.

"As neither party in this match can be disarmed permanently, the match will end when either participant's Aura level falls into the red level, either participant is sent out of the arena, or either participant finds themselves in a position where under normal circumstances would result in a fatal blow.

"Do you understand these rules as I have read them to you?" Alex asked.

"Yep," Delsin said.

"Yes I do," Eugene said.

With a touch of Speed and a few Glyphs, Alex back-flipped out of the arena and into the judge's box.

"Well then, begin!"

 **O00000O00000O**

Oddly enough, the person who made the first move was Eugene.

He charged forward and brought his blade down in a chopping motion. Delsin caught the blow with a backhanded upward swipe to his left. Then, imitating Weiss, he used that force to spin himself around. He thinned out his blade to a more Rapier-like width, then thrust it forward.

The blow landed square in Eugene's chest, and while his Aura kept him from harm, he was still knocked back a bit. Melee combat wasn't exactly his strong-suit, and Delsin had been getting a lot of practice lately.

But he had a few tricks of his own.

As Delsin closed in, Eugene held his arm in a defensive posture. As Delsin brought his blade down, Eugene's body flared blue with Video power.

Delsin's blade clanged against Eugene and shattered.

The young Conduit, clever as he was, had shrouded himself in armor made of his own blue power. In fact, Delsin recognized the template he'd used from the time he'd played Skyrim. It was Dragonscale Armor, one of the best armor types in the game.

Delsin quickly jumped backward and summoned another sword. Then he called to Alex.

"Hey, he made something other than a weapon! Doesn't that mean he broke the rules?" he yelled.

Alex thought for a moment.

"I'll allow it as a handicap. You're a lot better at this than he is," he answered, "But be careful Eugene, any further and I will disqualify you."

"Got it," Eugene answered with a smirk.

"I call hacks!" Delsin cried.

Eugene almost bust out laughing but managed to get it down to a small chuckle. Unfortunately for him, Delsin took advantage of his momentary distraction. He summoned a new weapon, a Digital Spear, and with a bit of Pyrrha's style mixed in, started on his attack. He wasn't great with a spear, but he'd learned a bit here and there.

Using the small blade of his spear, he thrust into the chink in Eugene's armor where the breastplate met the leggings. Eugene countered by stepping back out of reach, though he miscalculated the spear's length. His Aura absorbed the impact, but once again he was pushed back a bit further.

Eugene summoned a Digital Greataxe, ready to start fighting in earnest. He held his ax to his side and swiped with it, almost like it was a baseball bat. Delsin tried to block, but the swing shattered his spear into pixels. Eugene dismissed the ax and summoned a huge hammer in its place. Then, carrying on the momentum, he spun and swung the hammer in an upward arc, smashing Delsin in the chest.

Or rather, he tried to. Once again, he misjudged the length and swung at open air. With his side now wide open, Delsin returned the favor and summoned his own Digital Hammer. Nora actually got up and cheered when she saw it because his hammer was a near-perfect mimicry of her own Magnhild. He swung the hammer and slammed it into Eugene's side, shattering his armor's breastplate and sending him flying into a wall.

When he crashed into the wall, Eugene caught a glimpse of the combat scoreboard. Delsin's Aura was at ninety, but his was down to forty. He was almost certain he was going to lose, but if he was, he was going to take him down a peg while he was doing it. He managed to get his feet under him and spring-board off the wall. As he approached the apex of his jump, he detonated his armor like he'd seen in Mass Effect. The resulting flash wasn't enough to blind Delsin, or even enough to make him look away. But it was enough to give disguise what he was doing.

Delsin didn't notice until it was almost too late. In his brief moment of invisibility, Eugene had targeted him with his own Bloodthirsty Blades, and with just how powerful Eugene was, there were easily _triple_ the number of swords Delsin could have made. For a moment, Delsin just stared in slack-jawed amazement. Then the gravity of the situation hit him.

Delsin switched to his Concrete power, then Concrete Dashed forwards. As he ran forward, the first few swords nailed him in the chest, blasting apart the concrete armor around him. But, Delsin recovered and resumed his Dash. This time when the next few swords came in range, he slipped past one, then spun and gripped the hilt of the same sword he just dodged.

As he continued with the spin, he used his sword and smashed it into the next one, shattering it into pixels. Then he kept doing it. Over and over, he sliced through the oncoming wave of blades. He missed a few times, and his Aura level dropped all the way down to twenty-five, but he did it. When all of the blades were gone, Delsin jumped into the air, using his Video thrusters to propel himself into the air just enough. Eugene tried to dodge, but as Alex had said, Delsin had gotten a whole lot better. Delsin summoned back his original Digital Longsword. With both hands, he brought the sword down right onto Eugene's shoulder.

Delsin had blunted the blade, but with that swipe, Eugene plummeted and his Aura fell all the way to the single digits. He hit the ground just as the buzzer sounded, declaring Delsin the victor.

 **O00000O00000O**

"Damn Eugene, you almost had me there," Delsin said, helping his friend up off the ground.

"Nah, you had it handled," Eugene countered, "Besides, I only nearly beat you cuz I cheated, and you still beat me. You really have gotten better here, and not just with your powers."

"Thanks, man. You're not too bad yourself. A little more practice and you should be all set to pass your Combat Eval."

"Just remember, in that fight, you can't break the rules like you did here," Alex said as both he and their spectators jumped down from the seats.

"I know," Eugene said, reverting to a bit of his old shyness.

"And remember, that's only part of it. You still have to catch up in all of the classes you'll be staring," Blake said.

"I know," Eugene replied, hanging his head ever so slightly.

"Yeah. C'mon, we should get you to the library. You need to start studying," Pyrrha said.

"Let's go!" Ruby exclaimed in her usual cheery tone.

All three teams quickly exited the arena. On the way out, Team CFVY came up to them in a hurry.

"Did we miss it?" Coco asked sadly.

"Yeah, you did," Yang said.

"Aww, but I made popcorn," Yatsuhashi commented, holding up a big bag of the stuff.

"Who won?" Velvet asked, ignoring Yatsuhashi's plight.

"Who do you think?" Delsin asked, his usual grin on his face.

Velvet smiled.

"If you still wanna join us, we're heading to the library so Eugene can get some other studying in," Delsin said.

Coco looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Did you seriously just ask us to come to the library so we could study together... in the middle of a school vacation?" she asked in a patronizing tone.

"No, I said we were going there so _Eugene_ could study. _We_ are free to fuck around and do whatever," he replied.

Everybody but Weiss and Eugene smiled.

"So long as you don't disturb us, I don't care what you do," the Ice Queen said.

Delsin turned, and Weiss didn't see him smile. A tingle ran down Eugene's spine.

 **O00000O00000O**

"You activated my trap card!" Yang shouted.

"What?!" Nora exclaimed dramatically.

"With my partner's Mountain Wall trap card active, your invading army is stuck for the next three turns. Eat that Vacuo Scum!" Ruby shouted playfully.

Delsin lightly banged the table with his fist.

"No! Dammit, they're almost done with what they need to conquer the world!" he said, only slightly faking his anger, "Not this time! I respond by activating my Airship Fleet's special ability!"

"What?!" Ruby screamed.

"Can he do that?!" Yang asked.

Alex didn't even look up from his book to respond.

"Is the Vacuo unit within the Airship's range of movement?" he asked

"Lemme check... Yep," Yang said.

"Then yes."

"Damn."

"Alright!" Delsin shouted, adding a fist-pump for emphasis.

"That means that we can take one unit and make it immune to terrain based traps for as long as it stays within range of our ship," Velvet said proudly.

"So, with our raider troops unit now free to bypass your defenses thanks to some help from our Atlesian allies, we are free to begin our Assault on Vale proper," Ren said calmly, a smile growing on his face.

"NO-hohoho!" Ruby cried dramatically.

"How could you do such a thing?!" Yang asked.

Delsin merely leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face. He held out a fist to Nora and got a fist bump.

"Would you guys please keep it down!" Weiss shouted.

"Yeah, it's me and Yatsu's turn now!" Coco said, intentionally misinterpreting Weiss's anger.

Weiss growled but caught Eugene chuckling. Eugene felt her gaze burning a hole in his head and immediately clammed up and buried his face back in his books.

"Really though, if you could be a little quieter, I would appreciate it," Pyrrha interjected, Jaune covering his ears and waiting for the yelling to stop.

"Sorry, Pyrrha. We'll try and keep it down so you two can study," Yatsuhashi said, grinning.

"What is wrong with you people?!" Weiss shouted.

Everyone ignored her, but everyone was smiling. Even Blake, though no one could tell since her face was hidden behind her book. Delsin reached into the bowl of popcorn on the table and shoved a handful of it into his mouth.

After a couple more hours of play with no one winning, and more than a few Ice Queen meltdowns, Eugene threw his book down.

"Dammit! I am so bored!" he cried.

Luckily for him, Weiss wasn't there at the moment, because she would've killed him if she'd heard him.

"You ok there Eugene?" Delsin asked.

"I'm ok, but if I have to read another research paper where all they do is hypothesize about theoretical outcomes of probable scenarios that may or may not occur sometime in the possible future, I will set this room on fire."

"You do that and I will kill you," Blake said tersely, her cat ears pointing down in anger.

Everyone believed her.

"So what do you wanna do then kid? We could probably fit you onto the Vale side since they're kinda getting their butts handed to them," Coco said.

"Hey!" Ruby said.

"Nah, I got bored with strategy games when I was twelve," Eugene said.

"Sooooo, last week?" Yang said.

Almost the entire table broke into a chorus of "OOOH"'s at that.

"Very funny," Eugene replied, rolling his eyes.

"Seriously though, what do you wanna do?" Delsin asked.

Eugene thought for a moment. Then he smiled.

"Movie night?" he suggested.

Delsin choked, though not from shock. A piece of popcorn went down the wrong way. When he recovered, he smiled.

"For real?" he asked.

"It's been what, three months? We're way overdue."

"Movie night?" Jaune asked.

"It's a thing we did back home. I can make computer copies of movies I've seen so we can watch them whenever," Eugene explained.

"Plus he's seen, like, every movie ever so we never have to watch the same one twice. Unless we want to," Delsin continued.

"That sounds interesting," Ren said.

Yatsu nodded.

"Ok, all in favor of the super-special-awesome movie night?" Nora asked, raising a hand.

All of them shot up.

"Alright," Eugene said with a grin, "Meet me in our dorm in twenty minutes,"

"Great, I'll make more popcorn," Yatsu said.

They all got up to leave, Yang taking a picture of the board so they could start again some other time. They packed the box and headed out. Weiss was walking in when they were on their way out. She sighed and smiled.

"Finally giving us a break from your noise?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically.

"Nope," Delsin said, walking right past her.

They all walked past her. Both Ruby and Velvet turned and were about to speak, but Yang and Coco respectively cut them off and dragged them forward, small grins on their faces. Weiss took a look at the space they had been borrowing. She shrugged and went over to the table and resumed her studies. Exactly seventeen seconds passed and she threw her book down She might have been studious, but even she had her limits.

After making sure no one was around, she said, "Screw it," and left.

 **O00000O00000O**

"So what do you guys want?" Eugene asked, "Comedy? Action? Chic-Flic?"

He said the last one as a joke, but if the looks the women in the room gave him could kill, he would have been crucified. He chuckled to himself a bit but held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Seriously though, what?" he pressed.

"Action, definitely," Coco said.

"Yeah, but not too bloody," Yang said, acting as big sister again.

"Maybe a bit of romance here or there," Velvet said quietly.

Eugene smiled.

"Actually, I think I have the perfect movie."

He placed his hand on the TV by the window. A small stream of pixels flowed into it, and the movie player function launched.

"Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you, the 1993 classic starring Sylvester Stalone, Sandra Bullock, and Wesley Snipes."

He pressed play.

"May I present Demolition Man."

 **O00000O00000O**

Over the next hour, as they watched the movie, Eugene looked over the crowd that was crammed into the room. (Seriously, fourteen people in a room designed for four? It was a bit of a hassle for them all to find room.) As he saw the smiles that lit up everyone's faces as they watched, his heart melted a bit. For a few moments all of the pain that he had been through in not just the past few months, but almost the entirety of his life, vanished.

In those brief moments, he felt happy.

 _"I could get used to this,"_ he thought.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Yeah, this one was kinda short, but not every part of a story has big moments. Sometimes, you just need to stop and appreciate the little things.**

 **Just a bit of housekeeping, then you can all go on your merry way.**

 **First, as the holiday's approach and my family comes in from out of town, my free time is evaporating. As such, I will probably not be able to update for almost the entire month of December. I will definitely have at least one update for you guys on Christmas Day if I don't keep to my schedule, but just don't freak out if all of a sudden it's Tuesday and you haven't found a new chapter posted. This story is not ending anytime soon.**

 **Anyway, since we just passed Thanksgiving here in the USA, I just wanted to let you guys know that I truly am thankful for you guys. My faithful readers. Just knowing that you are out there has actually helped me in more ways than you'll ever know.**

 **Anyway, I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. See you next time.**


	16. Chapter 16

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 16: Evaluation**

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene walked into the arena. He felt strangely calm as the lights of the place fell upon him. He looked into the stands. There were quite a few people there, though not as many as their would have been had classes still been in session. Many students went home at the end of the semester, returning to their families, but others either wanted to stay, or (much like Delsin and him) had nowhere to go.

He looked up to the monitor behind him. His name and Aura level (he was still curious as to how he'd unlocked it) were displayed openly.

 _"Well, at least if I run out I have a giant power source ready and waiting,"_ he thought.

When he was ready, he walked to the center of the arena to begin the test. Glynda stepped into the judge's box.

"Quiet down everyone," she called. The students who had been talking amongst themselves quickly stopped.

"Go Eugene, you got this!" Delsin shouted.

Glynda nearly gave herself whiplash at the speed she turned to glare at him. Delsin met her gaze and smiled, utterly unconcerned with her anger. She turned back to the arena and cleared her throat.

"This will be a combat evaluation in two parts. Do I need to remind you of the rules Mr. Sims?" she asked.

"Do whatever I want so long as it's just me as I am now right?" he replied, editing himself to preserve his secret.

"Correct," she answered, "So keep them in mind. Are you ready to begin?"

Eugene did a mental check of his powers and reserves, then nodded.

"I am," he said.

"Well then," she began. She tapped a few times on her tablet.

Four hatches opened in the floor of the arena, and four cages rose up through them. Eugene tensed up when he saw that each cage contained a Beowolf. The cages started to retract and recede into the platforms they were stationed on.

"Begin!" Glynda shouted.

 **O00000O00000O**

The cages finished collapsing, then the Grimm raced towards him, one from each side.

Eugene launched a volley of Bloodthirsty Blades at the Beowolf coming at him head on, and it was blown to mist without a word. He turned to do the same thing to the one to his left, but the one from behind him caught him before he could.

The evil creature swiped at him with its claws and the recoil from the blow impacting his Aura knocked him back. In his peripheral vision he saw that it had taken a big chunk of his Aura, running it down to 80. Eugene caught himself and used the force to turn. He was now face to face with the three Grimm.

He summoned one of his Digital Longswords to his right and readied himself, using a stance he had borrowed from Pyrrha. The Grimm charged. He brought his blade down the second one of them entered his range. In the stands, Pyrrha winced ever so slightly. She knew he'd made a bad move.

The Grimm that had gotten him in the back earlier dodged the swing and returned with one of its own. In that moment, Eugene realized he'd forgotten to keep his Aura up and the Grimm's claws dug into his right shoulder.

He managed to jump back before he suffered major damage but he was still hurt, and with his healing factor being as weak as it was, he'd likely be dealing with that injury for the duration of the fight. He moved his other hand to check the wound, and pulled it back to find his fingers wet with blood.

He started to panic at the sight. He wasn't used to seeing his own blood, and the adrenaline rush hit him like city bus. His first instinct was to run away as fast as he could, and he was inches away from doing just that. But instead, he fought down the urge to run, remembering what his new friends had taught him about fear.

 _"It's only information,"_ Yatsuhashi had said, _"Your body is telling you that you are in danger. Don't fight your fear, use it. It can guide you if you let it."_

Eugene almost smiled. In the moment he had, he brought his Aura back up and moved his sword to his other hand. When the Grimm came back on him, he let his fear do the walking.

One of the beasts brought one of it's claws in a swipe from his left. This time Eugene evaded, if only barely. He replied this time with an upward strike and his sword sliced the Grimm's arm off. The monster roared and fell back.

The next one came on him from his right and tried to bull rush him. Eugene managed to sidestep and, with a move he borrowed from Weiss, stab it in the side. The beast cried out but managed to get a bit away from him.

The third Grimm, this being the same one that had gotten the drop on him twice now, was evidently smarter than the rest. Or perhaps it was just lucky. Either way, it used the whimpering form of the one armed Grimm to hide itself while it jumped over it in a wild pounce.

This time, Eugene actually did smile. He called up his wings and surged upwards. The Grimm pounced onto open air. From his superior position, Eugene launched another wave of Bloodthirsty Blades, right onto the Grimm that had landed where he was, killing it.

"Serves you right asshole," he said to himself.

As he slowly descended, he unleashed a wave of Video Torrents from both hands, targeting the two remaining Grimm. The one without an arm fell after one wave. The other managed to pick up a run and dodge. When Eugene touched down, the last Grimm turned and charged at him, consumed by its rage.

Eugene raised his left hand and released an unending wave of Video Torrent on it, but somehow it just powered through it. Eugene grimaced and stopped the Torrent. In its place he summoned another sword and held it in front of him with both hands, wincing in pain. As the beast closed in, he didn't move. His fear told him to run, it practically screamed it, but he stood, albeit shaking.

The monster leapt. Its claws were spread. Its jaws were open wide. As it fell towards Eugene, many of the spectators were wondering what the hell he was doing. Ruby was the first to get it.

He was waiting for an opening.

When the Beowolf was only a couple feet from him, Eugene thrust his sword, stabbing right through it's chest. The Grimm fell on his sword and let out a whine as it faded into black mist.

 **O00000O00000O**

When the buzzer sounded signaling his victory, the adrenaline stopped almost as suddenly as it came. Eugene nearly collapsed as it left and the pain of his injured shoulder flooded him. He only managed to stop himself by summoning a flimsy staff for himself. Ruby and Delsin were with there to support him in moments. Glynda eyed them. Then she got on the loudspeaker.

"We will have a short break, then the second part of the trial will get underway. Please get that wound tended to in the time provided Mr. Sims," she said.

"Will do," he grunted.

"Good. Be back here in twenty minutes."

She turned and left the judges box, and the three people in the arena left.

"Good job buddy," Delsin said.

"Yeah, you did great," Ruby continued.

"Thanks guys," Eugene said, his voice more than a little pained.

"Don't worry, we'll get you patched up," Delsin said.

The three of them quickly left the arena.

As they left, no one noticed the soft traces of putrid sulfur smell, or the small patches of green-gray coloring tracing the fallen Beowolf's features.

 **O00000O00000O**

"It didn't work," a small feminine voice said.

"I told you it wouldn't," a rough voice laced with sarcasm replied.

"Shut the fuck up Mercury," the feminine voice retorted.

"Calm down you two," a third voice said with quiet authority.

That voice was special. It had an almost seductive quality to it, with just a touch of hidden danger. It was the voice of a predator, one who used its beauty to distract you, and once your guard was down, it stabbed you in the back.

When that voice spoke, the other two stopped almost immediately and all but froze.

"You say it didn't work?" the special voice asked.

Mercury gulped, but no one heard it.

"Yeah," he said, "None of the Grimm from that last fight mutated."

"Really?"

The small voice spoke up.

"No ma'am, but there was a small glimpse of a change in one of them right at the end, but it was already dying."

"I see. Try again. Place the shard in the cage now while the evaluation is on hold. Give it a bit more time."

A smile crossed the lips of the woman to whom the predator's voice belonged.

"Let's see how the Conduits handle this."

 **O00000O00000O**

Glynda walked into Ozpin's office.

"You called sir?" she asked.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug, then placed it on his desk.

"Yes. How did the first part of the evaluation go?" he asked.

"You weren't watching?" she questioned, giving him a questioning look.

Ozpin sighed.

"Glynda, classes may not be in session right now, but I still have a school to run. As much as I would like to, I don't have the time to keep watch of everything that happens in these walls. How did it go?"

Glynda cleared her throat.

"Fairly well. He succeeded in defeating his opponents and his Aura took minimal damage fore someone of his skill," she said.

"But?"

"But he let it drop in the middle of the fight. He then sustained a moderate injury to his right shoulder," she continued.

Ozpin didn't say anything in reply, beyond an elongated "hmmmm." He picked up his tablet and made a few taps. Glynda felt her Scroll buzz. She reached into her pocket (they were cleverly hidden on the sides of her skirt) and pulled it out, finding a new message from Ozpin. She looked up at him curiously.

"The updated rules for the next part of the evaluation," he said.

Glynda opened the message and looked it over. A small look of uncertainty crossed her face.

"Sir, are you sure about this?" she asked.

Ozpin nodded.

"You should get going," he said, "The evaluation will be resuming shortly."

Glynda stood there for a moment still reading the updated rules, but she quickly left the office when she was done.

When she was gone, Ozpin picked up his mug and walked to the window nearest his desk. As he looked out over Beacon and beyond it the Kingdom of Vale, he smiled. The hopeful feeling he'd felt since he'd seen Delsin in action had only grown since Eugene had appeared.

 _"Whatever you're planning Salem,"_ he thought, _"This time, I will be ready."_

 **O00000O00000O**

Twenty minutes, a bandage and a low dose of painkillers later, Eugene was back in the arena.

There were actually more people in the stands now. He had drawn a bit more of a crowd once word had spread about him. Delsin had attracted quite a following in his time at Beacon, and once word had gotten out about a new student with similar powers, they were more than anxious to see it for themselves.

Once again, Glynda stepped up into the judge's box. After quieting the crowd down, she turned to face Eugene.

"And now, we come to the second part of your evaluation," She began.

Eugene gulped silently, determined not to show weakness to the crowd if he could avoid it.

"Before we begin, I should inform you of a slight change. The rules of this match will be slightly different than the last one."

Eugene looked at her questioningly.

"This will be a much more difficult trial than what was planned. As such, it will be over if your Aura reaches 40 or below, or you suffer a significant injury. Conversely, as this will be a more difficult bout, it's victory conditions are also different."

She made a few taps on her tablet and a three minute timer appeared on the monitor over his name and Aura level.

"If you manage not to lose until three minutes pass, or if you do succeed in killing your target, you will pass this part of your evaluation. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Eugene said.

"Good."

Glynda made another tap and a cage easily more than twice as large as the previous cages rose up before him. When Eugene saw what was in it, he stepped back, his fear forcing him to do so.

He'd read about the spider-like Grimm before him. It was called a Widowmaker. He'd laughed when he'd read that, thinking back to a character in a favorite game of his with the same moniker. But, as he looked at the monster in front of him, he didn't feel much like laughing.

It was the size of a house, easily twenty-five feet tall. Its face was covered by the typical bone mask found on Grimm, as were its mandibles. After the first joint on all eight of it's legs, they were covered in bone armor that actually spiked over the joint and into the air, making it just that more menacing. The armor on it's legs came to points where it's feet would be if it were a mammal, which Eugene remembered was its primary weapon.

However, what intimidated him most about him was the number of scratches on it's bone armor. There were too many to count. Undoubtedly, many of them had come from the weapons of Huntsmen and Huntresses who had tried and failed to kill the monster. Eugene knew, he was in for a very hard fight.

As the cage collapsed, Glynda shouted.

"Begin!"

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene summoned his wings and flew backwards, eager to put as much distance between himself and the Grimm as possible. It was a good move too, as the second the cage was down, one of the Widowmaker's spiked feet pierced the ground where he once stood. Eugene loosed a flurry of Bloodthirsty Blades, targeting the creature's face. If he could, he was hoping to end this in one shot.

When the first salvo made contact, the explosive impact made the thing reel, but only barely. Eugene didn't let up. He launched another three waves of Bloodthirsty Blades, one after the other. When the last one was launched, he followed them up with two streams of Video Torrents, one form each hand. It should be noted, he was screaming at the moment, half in fear and half in determination. The pixels resulting from his onslaught obscured the thing's head but if the rest of its body was any indication, it was certainly taking damage.

Eugene dropped his hands both to let his powers recover and to check how much damage the thing had taken. When the last of the pixels had disappeared, Eugene stepped back and his mouth fell open. He'd done damage, sure, but not much. He'd chipped a few pieces off of its mask, but all he'd really managed to do was add to the number of nicks in the things armor.

The thing would've roared, were it physically capable of it, but instead it screeched. The look of hatred in its eyes was enough to send a shiver down his spine, but again he took control of his fear and stood his ground. The angry spider spat at him. Literally.

Eugene hurriedly dodged, using his wings to propel him to his left. The spot where he was was now a small hole in the ground as the monster's spit was incredibly corrosive. As he flew, he resumed firing, hoping to at least hurt it a bit more. He checked the timer. Only forty-five seconds had passed. He wasn't even half way done yet. He grimaced. The pain from his shoulder wound was flaring up. He needed to end this quickly.

He flew up and tried to land on the thing's back, but the spider heard him coming. It tensed its legs and jumped out of the way. He had to admit, the thing was fast for something its size. It landed on the wall, its spider legs anchoring it there. It let out a few more rounds of acid spit, but Eugene dodged pretty easily.

The fight continued like that for about a minute. Eugene would try to get on the thing, only for the Grimm to jump away. The Grimm would fire a few rounds of its acid spit but Eugene would dodge. Though he had to admit, as the fight progressed, it almost seemed like the Widowmaker was getting smarter.

When the two of them had done a complete ring around the arena, they stopped. For a moment, the the two of them stared at each other. Only a moment. The Grimm broke first. The second the monster twitched, Eugene let out a giant swathe of Bloodthirsty Blades, easily fifteen of them. All of them collided with the general area of the monster's head. When the first few blades crashed into it, an audible crack resounded throughout the arena, and the thing reeled backward. For once, it seemed like the Grimm had actually taken damage.

He wasn't so lucky.

The second the crack occurred, a wave of nausea passed over Eugene.

Starting at the thing's face, a series of putrid green veins spiraled around it, enveloping it. All but a bit of the red on its features turned that same shade of putrid green as they came in contact with the veins. Patches of the thing's fur began to fall out, leaving exposed areas of diseased looking skin as they crossed over its body. The thing's mandibles broke free of it's mask, looking the same as the areas where hair had fallen out as the veins pulsed under its mask. When the veins reached its legs, the bones on its legs expanded outward, forming additional tonfa-like protrusions.

Eugene looked on in horror as the thing morphed in front of him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Glynda furiously tapping away at her tablet, wondering what the hell was going on and trying to put a stop to it. He wasn't paying attention to that though. His eyes were still locked on the scene in front of him.

Beneath the monster, something else was happening. Every few seconds, a large drop of black liquid would fall from the thing's underbelly. Once it collided with the ground, it began to change. It would rise up a few inches off the ground, then begin taking a new form. Realization hit Eugene. Somehow, the thing was actually spawning new Grimm.

When the Grimm finished forming, it was as if someone had taken a Creep, the lowest form of Grimm, and Corrupted it as well. From looking over the files on Bertrand back in their world, Eugene recognized the changes the Widowmaker had gone through left it part Hive Lord. That meant that the things beneath it were Creep Spikers.

That knowledge didn't make it any less terrifying though.

From below, four of the newly formed Grimm spat acid at Eugene. It was like a wave of acidic shotgun blast were being fired at him. Eugene only barely managed to shake himself out of his daze in time to dodge, but some of the acid caught his hoodie and shirt.

Pain tore through him where the acid touched his skin. Luckily it didn't break through his Aura, Eugene wasn't about to make that mistake again. But, in his haste to dodge, he unknowingly walked into a trap.

See, most spiders fall into one of two categories, passive hunters and active hunters. Passive hunters are the more famous of the two, as they are the ones who actually spin webs to catch their prey. Active hunters take a more direct approach, and are usually much more agile so they can truly hunt their prey. The Widowmaker? That would be an example of a spider who does both.

Unbeknownst to Eugene, every time the spider landed in a new spot, it left a trail of web. As a result, it had managed to encase most of the arena in its snare. What's worse, Eugene only just remembered that a Widowmaker's web was laced with a low-grade neurotoxin to inhibit movement.

His eyes locked back onto the monster, and as it lumbered towards him on its spindly legs he could almost swear the giant Grimm was smiling.

 **O00000O00000O**

"Eugene!" Delsin cried out from the stands.

Before any of his friends could react, Delsin shot over the crowd in a burst of water, having switched to that power to help Eugene recover in between bouts. When he reached the edge of the interior ring, he tried to comet drop onto the thing's back, only to smash into the Arena's containment shield.

Fear flooding him, he smashed his fist into the energy dome repeatedly.

"Glynda, take down the shield!" he screamed.

"I can't! If that thing escapes it will go after the other students, and almost none of them are prepared for that right now!" she replied.

"If you don't, Eugene's gonna die down there!"

Glynda merely gave him a sorrowful look.

Delsin snarled and switched to his Concrete power.

"Then I guess I'll just have to hit this thing harder!"

He brought his fist down again. Nothing happened. As he was about to bring it down again, a lightning bolt struck the shield. Delsin turned and saw Alex standing alongside Teams RWBY, CFVY and JNPR, his arm in front of him.

"You might wanna move," the bird Faunus said, raising his hand up high..

Delsin immediately Concrete Launched himself into the air.

Alex brought his hand down and yelled, "Open fire!"

Bullets, explosions and dust rounds all pinged onto the spot where Delsin had been. The shield quickly began to flicker, quickly weakening under the onslaught. The next second, Delsin was readying a Comet Drop to break through.

"Stop! We can't let that thing escape!" Glynda shouted, only barely audible over the hail of gunfire.

"Don't worry," Delsin said, "It won't."

 **O00000O00000O**

As the giant Grimm came towards him, Eugene's eyes were locked onto it. He couldn't hear anything over the sound of his own racing heartbeat. Because of that, he completely missed the barrier's collapse.

That is, until Delsin smashed into the thing's back.

"Sorry pal, but I think you need a diet!"

The monster shuddered from the impact, but it shook itself and threw him off. Delsin caught himself in the air and landed right next to Eugene. He switched to his Smoke power and grabbed the web Eugene was trapped in. He lit up his hand and quickly burned through the web, releasing Eugene. Eugene fell to the ground, still paralyzed from the neurotoxin in the web.

The monster screeched again, this time in anger. Delsin turned to face it and lobbed a Sulfur grenade in it's face. The grenade went off and the Widowmaker breathed in the fumes, quickly becoming disoriented.

"Keep it distracted!" Delsin yelled.

From the edge of the stands, all of his friends with long range abilities and weapons circled the arena and resumed firing. While the thing was distracted, Delsin switched back to his Water power to heal Eugene. In a few moments, the Video Conduit was back on his feet.

"Delsin!" Eugene exclaimed.

"You're welcome," Delsin replied.

Alex landed in front of them.

"Much as I hate to interrupt, we need to take this thing out," the Bird Faunus said.

"Right," Eugene said.

"Any ideas?" Delsin said, still looking at Eugene.

Eugene was a bit startled.

"Me?" he asked.

"It's your evaluation," Delsin replied.

Eugene looked around the arena. Later he would credit it to years of playing Fire Emblem, but he actually came up with a counter strategy in only a few seconds.

"Alex, you and everyone else, keep it on the ground. We can't let that thing get out of the arena. Delsin and I can fight it beat it here," he said.

"You sure?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Eugene replied, "We got this."

"Got it," Alex said.

The bird Faunus took off and did a ring around the arena to inform the others of the strategy. Then he flew into position over it, hanging off the arena rafters so he wouldn't tire himself out hovering in circles.

"I think it's safe to say that the rules for this fight have officially gone out the window," Delsin said.

Eugene smiled.

"You know, I was thinking the same thing."

Eugene spread his arms. Ten Angels materialized over his head and returned fire on the Creep-Spikers. The new Grimm were surprisingly agile and many of the dodged the first round of attacks. Even still, more of them fell under the repeated waves. Even as the Widowmaker kept birthing more of the new Grimm, Eugene's Wingmen kept firing.

Several of the more lucky or agile ones actually managed to return fire, as did the Widowmaker itself. Given that the Angels weren't exactly the most durable of constructs, they vanished when even one blast of acid hit them. But just as the Widowmaker kept making more Grimm, Eugene kept making more Angels, locking them into a stalemate.

"You ready Delsin?" Eugene asked.

"What's the plan?"

"You said the rules went out the window right?"

"Yeah?"

Eugene smiled.

 **O00000O00000O**

For monsters without emotions, Grimm show fear pretty well.

For example, when a giant spider-Grimm goes from looking at a small band of human sized targets to looking at a small band of human sized targets plus one building sized Angel, it backpedals pretty quick. The monster tried to jump back and spit acid, but Eugene didn't let it.

"FACE THE POWER OF HE WHO DWELLS!" Eugene shouted as he grabbed ahold of the bone spikes on the thing's front legs.

The monster fought back and spat more acid at him, this time hitting him square in the face. Even through the construct, Eugene felt it. He reeled back and lost his hold, but behind the mask of He Who Dwells, Eugene smiled. He'd only been the distraction. At that moment, Delsin struck. He raised his arm up and with his Water power active, unleashed a Pressure Slice.

Right a the Widowmaker's inside legs.

Almost immediately, the front inside leg on it's left side was sheered off. The monster screeched in pain, and more acid fell from it's mouth. Without missing a beat, Delsin spun and Pressure Sliced off the same leg on the opposite side. The monster began to lose its balance as six legs weren't enough to fully support its weight.

When the thing faltered, He Who Dwells summoned his massive sword and brought it down on the creatures head. Still the Widowmaker's armor held, the blade shattering into pixels as it collided with the thing's mask. Eugene grimaced.

 _"What do I have to do to kill this thing?!"_ he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted as Delsin cut off another of its legs. The limb caught his eye and he immediately remembered something back from his childhood, specifically the final battle of The Incredibles movie.

 _"Can't hurt to try!"_

He rolled out of the way of the next volley of acid and picked up the severed leg. Hobbling, the thing turned to face him one last time. It opened its mouth to fire again. The second it's mouth opened, Eugene lunged, using the leg like a spear.

The monster didn't even have the chance to scream.

The leg tore through the monster, obliterating most of it's face and what was left of its mask. It sputtered around for a moment, somehow still clinging to life. He Who Dwells flew upward as high as he could, a new sword appearing in his hands.

"THIS WILL END IT!" he shouted.

He fell, diving with his blade pointed down. The sword pierced the monster's back, and without a sound it died. He Who Dwells knelt next to it as it faded away, still holding his sword. When the monster finally vanished, the all of the other Angels vanished as soon as the wiped out the Creep-Spikers.

For a moment, the giant angel stared at the spot where his foe once stood. Then he shattered, and Eugene reappeared in a pose identical to the angel's. The Video Conduit was panting in exhaustion and clinging to his sword was the only thing keeping him upright. He looked at the scoreboard. His Aura was in the single digits. If he'd so much as stubbed his toe, he would have likely died.

"You ok man?" Delsin asked from behind him.

"Yeah," Eugene wheezed, "I'm just going to need a minute."

The second the words left his mouth, Eugene passed out.

 **O00000O00000O**

Hidden in the back of the spectator seating, two people stood and watched the fight.

The woman had a dark complexion, short cropped green hair and piercing red eyes. Her outfit could only barely be described as one as it consisted of barely any fabric. That said, she wore it with confidence.

The man next to her appeared to be opposite her in in many ways. Where she was dark skinned, he was very pale. Where she was lightly clothed, he was covered almost entirely. The only skin he showed was his face and a tiny patch on his elbows.

When the fight ended, the woman's mouth hung open. The man looked over her in an utterly disinterested manner.

"Emerald, your mouth's open," he said, somehow managing to sound sarcastic.

The woman shook her head and looked back at him with a scowl.

"Shut up Mercury," she said.

The man sighed.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

"Now?" she replied, a touch of fear coloring her tone, "Now we report in."

The woman pulled out her Scroll and dialed up a phone number. A few seconds later, the person on the other end answered.

"Lady Cinder? We have a problem."

 **O00000O00000O**

A few hours later, Eugene woke up in a hospital bed.

"Dammit, I hate hospitals," he groaned, slurring a bit.

"Hey bud," Delsin said from beside him, "You feeling okay?"

Eugene shook his head.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck. And having actually _been_ hit by a truck before, I can say that."

He heard a giggle outside his field of vision. He turned to see everyone was in the room with him. Somehow.

"You had us worried there for a minute kid," Coco said.

"Y'know, having this many people in this room is probably some kind of health code violation," Eugene said.

Coco smirked at him.

"I can assure you, it is perfectly alright," an older voice said from behind them all.

The crowd parted to reveal Ozpin standing in the doorway holding a briefcase. The room fell silent.

"Oz? What brings you down here?" Delsin asked.

"I wanted to apologize for how things unfolded during your evaluation. I should have never let something like that happen," he said, his head hanging slightly.

Eugene nodded.

"Any idea how it happened?" he asked.

Ozpin reached up and laid the briefcase on the bed.

"I investigated after the fight concluded," he said, opening the case, "and I found this in the Widowmaker's cage."

He turned the case so Delsin and Eugene could see.

It was another Blast Shard, Corrupted like the one they had found in the cave near Rintah. Eugene picked it up. He looked over at Delsin. Delsin nodded at him, a grim look on his face. Eugene drained the shard dry and its glow died. Instantly he felt better. He wasn't back to 100%, but he was a lot closer.

"I see. It was another one of those," Ozpin said.

"Another one of what?" Coco asked.

"I'll explain it to you later," Delsin said.

"Either way, someone placed it there intentionally. I'll have people check every single one of those cages. If there are more, we need to deal with that now," he said.

After a moment of silence, Eugene spoke up again.

"Thank you, Professor," he said.

"No thanks necessary," the old professor said.

He turned toward the door and began to leave.

"Do your best to heal quickly. Classes resume soon," he said as he was leaving.

"What?" Eugene asked.

Ozpin turned and looked over his shoulder.

"You passed."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **As promised, one update on Christmas day. My Christmas present to you, my loyal followers. The next update will be on January 9th, then back to every other Tuesday. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a family dinner to attend/ suffer through.**

 **So as a jolly man once said, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.**

 **PS, if you don't celebrate Christmas, happy holidays.**


	17. Chapter 17

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 17: Food Fight!**

 **O00000O00000O**

In a faraway palace, news of the events in Beacon had arrived at Salem's palace. The Dark Queen sat on her throne, one of her Seer Grimm beside her. The rest of her vassals sat at the table, though two were absent, Dr. Watts being one of them. When her agent in Vale finished her report, Salem waved away the small Grimm and rose from her seat. She began to pace around the table, a pensive look on her pale features.

"So, evidently there is not one new Conduit in Remnant," she began, "There are two."

No one showed any emotion in response to that. Augustine was the first to speak next.

"What are their abilities?" she asked.

"I instructed her to send a detailed report to your Scroll," Salem replied.

At that moment, Augustine's Scroll buzzed. She opened the file and skimmed it. Then she frowned.

"Eugene Sims," she said.

"You know him?" Salem asked.

Augustine nodded.

"He is an exceptionally powerful Conduit capable of manipulating Video energy. If I'm being honest, he's one of the most powerful Conduits I ever encountered in my work at the DUP," she explained.

"I see," Salem replied.

The Queen of Darkness sat in her chair at the head of the table.

"Tell me everything."

 **O00000O00000O**

At Beacon, Winter break was coming to a close, and classes were going to resume in only one day. Delsin woke up early that morning. It had become a habit. He got up and put on his workout clothes. He grabbed a water bottle, his Scroll, and his earbuds, then walked out of the room. When he got to the door of the dorm building, he stopped to double knot his shoes then put in his earbuds.

Morning runs had become another habit of his. No powers, no distractions, no worries. Just him and the road. It gave him time to think and organize his thoughts. You wouldn't think it to look at him, but being in this new world still got to him. The morning runs helped him deal with that.

It had also given him time to notice a few other small differences from his home-world. The air was different. Not in a super noticeable kind of way, it just felt like it was lighter somehow. Delsin figured that was what happened when there weren't decades worth of air pollution floating around.

The sun shone differently too. In the early morning sunrise, different colors would illuminate the sky than what he was used to. Particular shades of blue and purple he didn't see very often back home. The artist in him found it beautiful.

He was halfway through his lap around the courtyard listening to the dulcet sounds of Rise Against when he faintly heard someone behind him. Without stopping he looked over his shoulder to see a pair of bunny ears bouncing behind him. He slowed down a bit, just enough to allow her to catch up.

When she did, Delsin took out his earbuds.

"Morning Velvet," he said.

"Morning," she replied, a little out of breath.

The two of them ran side by side in silence. When they were a few minutes away from the dorms, Velvet stopped to catch her breath. Delsin turned back and ran up next to her. He placed a hand on her back.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, panting, "I just need a minute."

"Not much of a runner, are you?" he asked, a small smile on his face.

Velvet said nothing. Instead, she looked at him with a burning hatred. Delsin's smile widened.

"C'mon, there's a bench right over there," he said.

He wrapped her arm around his shoulder and helped her to the bench. They sat down and he dropped her arm.

"So, what brings you out here this fine morning?" Delsin asked.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Velvet turned to him.

"No reason, just wanted to warm-up before classes started back," she said, still a little out of breath.

"Ok that makes sense," he replied, "Next time though? Don't start with a marathon around Beacon."

"Noted," she said with a smile.

After a couple minutes the pair resumed their run. Delsin made sure to set a slower pace than he was used to to make sure Velvet stayed alright. Neither of them said anything else on the way, a few expressive glances the extent of the remainder of their conversation.

When they reached the final stretch, Delsin turned to Velvet and flashed a devious grin. Then he took off as fast as his non-powered feet could carry him. Velvet gave him an exasperated look but smiled and rose to the challenge. She sprinted off after him.

 **O00000O00000O**

"You cheated!" Velvet cried.

"Did not!" Delsin said, a guilty smile on his face.

"You said no powers!"

"I said no such thing!"

The two of them walked into the dorm complex.

"I had you beaten!" Velvet shouted.

"You thought," Delsin countered.

In lieu of a response, Velvet's face contorted in rage.

For all of one second anyway.

The two of them devolved into hysterical laughter.

"See you at breakfast?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah," Delsin said.

The two of them went their separate ways. Delsin quickly arrived at his room to find Eugene was already awake. The Video Conduit had apparently been trying out his new uniform. For whatever reason, he was ecstatic to have it, much to Delsin's dismay.

When Delsin opened the door, Eugene turned.

"Hey Delsin," he said, gesturing to his outfit, "What d'you think?"

Delsin sighed.

"I wanna say it looks good on you," he said, "But, I can't. It makes you look like a monkey. A really preppy monkey."

"Seriously?" Eugene asked nervously.

"Don't take it personally. Everybody looks stupid in one of those. That's why I hate wearing it."

Eugene gave him a dirty look.

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome," Delsin said wholeheartedly, "Now I need a shower."

That being said, Delsin went into the bathroom and closed the door. A few moments later, Eugene heard the water come on. He ignored it and went back to checking himself out in his uniform.

"I don't care what Delsin says, I think I look nice," he said softly to himself.

"Y'know," he heard a voice say beside him, "Talking to yourself is a hard habit to break."

Eugene turned to see Alex sitting up in his bed. The bird Faunus got up and walked next to him.

"And for what it's worth," Alex said, "You kinda do look like a preppy monkey."

Alex quickly left, a small bag in his hand. Eugene absentmindedly figured he was on his way to the group showers on the first floor. He liked taking his shower the minute he woke up so if theirs was occupied, he used that one. Eugene turned back to the mirror. Now that both of his teammates commented on his appearance, Eugene couldn't help but see their point.

"Dammit," he said, disappointed.

 **O00000O00000O**

An hour later, the three of them walked into the cafeteria. Alex was wearing his uniform and not giving a crap. Eugene had fallen back onto his old outfit of a hoodie and nondescript pants, his teammates comments about his uniform making him more than a little self-conscious. Delsin wore his sweats from his run, though freshly cleaned. Even now, he adamantly refused to wear his uniform if he didn't have to.

After getting their food they sat down, picking spots directly between Teams RWBY and JNPR.

"Whatcha doin?" Yang asked suddenly.

Delsin looked up in time to see her nudge Blake in the side.

"Nothing," Blake said, though a little too quickly, "Just going over notes from last semester."

A grape sailed over Eugene's shoulder and Yang caught it in her mouth.

"Lame," Yang said.

A second one flew past and Yang caught it again, just in time for Ruby to slam a comically oversized binder on the table.

"Sisters! Friends! Weiss!" she began, gesturing to add emphasis.

"Hey!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream," Ruby continued.

"This oughta be good," Yang said, catching another grape in her mouth.

"A dream that one day, the four of us would come together – as a team – and have the most fun anyone has ever had … ever!"

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked.

"I am not a crook," Ruby countered.

"Yeah? Then why is it that all the cookies I leave in the kitchen with my name on them always vanish with traces of rose petals left behind?" Alex asked, an accusing smile on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ruby replied, way too quickly.

"What are _you_ talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about starting off our semester with a bang!" Ruby replied.

Yang chose that moment to interrupt with what was possibly the worst pun in the history of ever.

"I always kick my semesters off with a _Yang,"_ she said, "Eh? Eh? Am I right?"

Some very courageous soul who had overheard threw an apple at her, nailing her right in the face. Immediately following the ballistic apple, a quiet "boo" could be heard in the background. Everyone present shared the sentiment, but they knew better than to say it out loud.

Ruby cleared her throat.

"Look, guys, its been a good two weeks, and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester's gonna be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow, which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today!" Ruby explained.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss said.

Yang growled a bit and returned fire, lobbing her own apple right back. Alex dimly heard Ren shout something, his hearing dulled by a growing sense of impending doom.

"I don't know," Blake said, a small sigh following the words, "I think I might sit this one out."

"Sit out or not, I think that however we spend this last day, we should spend it as a team," Weiss replied.

As the heiress stood up, Alex's sense of dread grew, and immediately spread to his two teammates. When they heard Nora shout, "I got it!" and saw Yang frantically waving her arms, the three of them immediately got up to run for cover.

They managed to move about ten inches before disaster struck. A pie flew past them and crashed right into Weiss's face. Both tables went silent.

"Oh shit," Delsin said.

 **O00000O00000O**

Looking back, not even the people directly involved knew exactly what happened next. All they knew, was that approximately twenty seconds later, Nora was standing atop a hill of tables, shouting "I'm Queen of the castle! I'm Queen of the castle!"

Ruby planted her foot on the table in front of her and pointed at Team JNPR.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" she shouted, crushing the milk carton in her hands, "It will be DELICIOUS!"

"Yeah!" her teammates cried.

On the side of the room at the only table that had managed to remain entirely untouched in all of that nonsense, Team CNDT sat. Well, Alex and Delsin sat. Eugene was busy hiding under the table.

"Will somebody please explain to me why we aren't running away," Eugene said, briefly popping up from his hiding spot.

"Because I haven't finished my breakfast yet," Alex said, his mouth full.

"And because this is gonna be awesome," Delsin said.

"That too."

"What, you scared Teen Angel?" Delsin asked, his trademark smirk on his face.

"Lil' bit."

Delsin grinned and looked back to the events unfolding.

"Off with their heads!" Nora shouted.

On cue, all of the members of Team JNPR began launching watermelons at their foes. Also on cue, Yang rushed forward and stuck her fists in a pair of turkeys, for whatever reason using them to emulate her Ember Celica. As the watermelons closed in, she turned them into a red mist. When she left an opening, Blake dashed in and filled it, using two baguettes to smash the next two watermelons into oblivion.

Yang kicked the last watermelon into pieces, then sent her two turkey gauntlets flying at Jaune and Pyrrha. Pyrrha quickly dodge-rolled out of the way, but Jaune stood his ground. As both of the flying fowl crashed into him, Jaune merely slid back a few feet. A cocky grin crossed his face. Yang gave him an approving nod.

Off to the side, Team CNDT was watching.

"Since when did turkeys work like gauntlets?" Delsin asked.

"Since Yang," Alex replied, taking a bite of his oatmeal.

"Seriously?" Delsin pressed.

Alex said nothing, but his lips turned up in a cheeky smile.

"And the fact that Blake used two bread-sticks to smash through watermelons?"

"Ok, those were stale," Alex explained, though his tone made it hard to tell if he was kidding or not.

"Suuure," Delsin said.

From his spot under the table, Eugene eyed the two of them like they'd lost her mind.

Back at the food fight, Yang pointed to Jaune's feet. Jaune fell for it, and only too late did he realize it was a trap. He hurriedly looked up, only for his face to collide with the apple Yang had sent careening towards his head. He fell on his ass with a pitiful moan.

Pyrrha quickly recovered from her prone position to cover Jaune, picking up a baguette-sword of her own. The only problem, the second she got into position, Blake was already on her. She began using her Shadow Clones right off the bat, but Pyrrha quickly managed to gain the upper hand.

Pushing past all of Blake's decoys, Pyrrha sent her flying backward. Then she grabbed a few more of the strangely hard bread-sticks and lobbed them at Yang like spears. Yang managed to break the first two, but the third one nailed her in the gut.

"That bread must have been sitting out for a long time," Delsin said.

"Hm?" Alex groaned quizzically.

"Well, it would've had to, since it's been _embedded in the concrete floor!_ " Delsin shouted.

"C'mon Delsin, now you're just talking crazy," Alex replied flatly.

Delsin threw his hands up in the air, then looked at his partner.

"You know I hate it when you do that," Delsin said.

"I know," Alex said, a genuinely happy smile on his face.

As Yang fell, Ruby rode past her on a lunch tray, dodging more of Pyrrha's thrown weapons along the way. She even managed to use her tray to redirect one of the flying bread-sticks right back at Pyrrha, forcing her to dodge while ruby closed in.

When Pyrrha recovered, she raised her arms in front of her face just in time for Ruby to land on them. Then, the Rose Reaper used her position to kick Pyrrha back, sending her reeling back onto the floor. Ren and Nora dashed past their fallen comrade and kept on the attack.

Ren came first, but Ruby jumped up to reveal Weiss was standing right behind her. Armed with a bottle of ketchup, Weiss moved like Myrtenaster was in her hands and emptied the entire bottle onto the floor. Somehow. When his feet hit the floor, Ren slipped and slid on his back into a pile of overturned tables and foods, which then proceeded to explode outwards. Somehow.

Nora jumped and ran across a table as it flew through the air. Then she vaulted off its edge and grabbed onto a pole sticking out from the wall and broke it off. As she landed, she jammed the pole into one of the remaining watermelons, turning it into a makeshift hammer. She advanced, moving to smash her hammer into Weiss, but Ruby took the hit for her.

As Ruby went flying, Weiss spun around and picked up a swordfish, then surged forward with a glyph. Weiss jabbed the point of the swordfish right at Nora, propelling her backward.

"Oh come on! This is just getting ridiculous!" Delsin cried.

"Oh lord, what is it now?" Alex asked.

"How in the world! Ketchup doesn't come out of a bottle like that! Not even close!" Delsin shouted.

"Dude, calm down," Alex said.

"And why the hell is there a swordfish! It's not even a cooked swordfish, it's just a regular old swordfish!"

Alex raised his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it.

"Yeah, I've got nothing, that's just weird."

"Thank you!"

Nora rolled back into the fray and after a brief exchange of blows with Weiss overpowered her and sent her flying backward. She crashed into one of the columns at the front of the cafeteria, breaking it apart. When she fell, Ruby made a big show of anguish about it, acting like she was actually dead as the pillar fell to the ground.

Yang jumped over them both and ran back into the fray, reattaching her turkey gauntlets. Ren moved to engage, picking up a pair of leeks to use as his weapons. The two ran straight at each other and as they closed in, both of them readied attacks. Yang pulled back her fist and Ren brought back his leeks.

Then when they collided, Yang blocked Ren's blow with her feet. Yang's features lit up with her usual cocky grin. The two briefly exchanged blows, but Yang got the better of him in seconds, beating him down with little trouble. Then she launched him with an uppercut. In the air, Ren threw his leeks at her, and though he missed, he somehow got them both stuck in the concrete floor.

Yang jumped into the air and smiled, then smacked Ren down like he was made of lead. The second she landed, Nora was on her, advancing with her hammer. Yang managed to dodge her first strike, but when she tried to counterattack, Nora got her full on. The blow had so much force, it sent her crashing _through_ the roof of the building.

By this point, the novelty of the situation was waning for Alex. It was fun to watch at first, but now it was getting boring. Plus, he was certain that given the noise they'd made one teacher, in particular, would be on her way here, one he did not want to be on the bad side of.

"Dude, you alright?" Delsin asked.

"I'm ok, but I think it's time to put an end to this," he said.

"For real?" Delsin asked cheerfully.

"Stay here please," Alex said, "I don't want to hit you on accident."

Alex stepped up onto the table. He didn't bother eating a crystal. He didn't really need one for this. The Bird Faunus raised his arms and telekinetically froze all of the food and soda can grenades people on both sides had thrown. A whine of disappointment went up from the still conscious members of both teams, but Alex ignored it all.

That is, until Nora hit him square in the face with a soda can.

The can exploded, much like the others she had thrown, dowsing Alex in grape soda from head to toe. For a second, Alex didn't even register what had happened. Then the second passed and he cracked his knuckles and his neck.

"Alright, that's it," he said, snapping a hand out in front of him, "You wanna play? Let's play!"

Nora actually looked a little scared for a moment and threw another soda can at him. While the can was flying, Nora blinked, and suddenly Alex wasn't there.

"Boo!" she heard him say on her left.

She turned and saw him, then swung wildly in shock, only to find it was a Shadow Clone.

"Nice try!" she heard behind her, and she spun around only to get slammed in the gut with her own watermelon hammer. He was careful not to hit her too hard, this was a game after all, but he did knock the wind out of her.

"Boop," Alex said as she fell.

Pyrrha's eyes widened and she slammed he palm to the concrete floor, spreading her magnetic control to all of the soda cans on the floor. Dimly he heard Delsin complain "Aluminum cans aren't even magnetic!"

Pyrrha sent the soda cans flying towards Alex. He dodged the first dozen or so, but he quickly learned that just as he was watching all of them, she was watching him. She began to direct the cans like a river, much like Alex himself would have. Alex smiled, what with imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. She threw the river right at him, but Alex dodged perfectly. After all, how hard was it really to dodge your own move?

Alex overtook her control on the river. Not by too much, he couldn't match her power no matter how hard he tried, but it was enough.

"Open wide!" he shouted, a manic smile on his face.

The cans flowed around him in a wide arc then crashed right it Pyrrha. When she took the first hit, her control faltered, and Alex took control the rest of the way. He directed the stream of cans upward, forming them into a cloud. Each and every can was pointing straight down, just over the prone but recovering forms of Team JNPR.

Alex smiled, and with a snap, he ripped every single can open, drowning all of Team JNPR in various colors of soda.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win a food fight," Alex said.

At that moment the cafeteria doors burst open, revealing one very pissed off Glynda Goodwitch. Alex felt a shiver go down his spine as she walked in and stared right at him. With a growl, Glynda flicked her riding crop and began returning the room to order.

As the last table bounced into place, Glynda turned to them and adjusted her glasses.

"Children, please, do not play with your food."

For a moment, the room was silent. Then everyone there but Glynda burst out laughing. They couldn't help it. Even though her glare was terrifying, Glynda's joke was just too funny. Glynda growled, but Ozpin placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let it go," he said.

Glynda sighed.

"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world," she said.

"And they will be. But right now, they're still children," Ozpin replied, "So why not let them play the part?"

He began to walk away.

"After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever."

At that moment, Yang fell back into the room and crashed right through one of the tables. All of the laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Then Yang shot up and said, "I'm okay!" with a stupid grin on her face.

And the laughter began again.

 **O00000O00000O**

Back at Salem's palace, Augustine had just finished briefing Salem on Eugene and his abilities.

"I see," the dark witch said, "This is troubling but still inconsequential. One more piece on the board will not stand in our way."

Augustine nodded. Then the doors opened.

"Ah, Dr. Watts. How fares our guest?"

"I finished a second check of our containment system. No abnormalities to be found."

"I see. Keep checking," she said.

She turned to Bertrand.

"Go with him. Make sure he cannot use his abilities while the tests are being run."

"Yes milady," Bertrand replied.

"Good," Salem said, turning back to Dr. Watts, "And our other project?"

"The prototype has been constructed based on Mr. Bertrand's schematics," Watts said, "It will be charged and ready right on schedule."

He placed a steel case down on the table, then opened it and turned it to Salem.

As her dark eyes gazed upon the case's contents, Salem smiled.

"Wonderful."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Hey guys, happy new year! Hope you all have a wonderful 2018!**


	18. Chapter 18

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 18: Welcome To Beacon**

 **O00000O00000O**

"God, could that guy be any more boring?" Eugene moaned.

Team CNDT walked out of Professor Port's class after yet another of his seemingly endless "Tales of Manliness."

"Yeah, and we didn't even get to kill anything to stave off the boredom," Alex complained.

"At least he stopped trying to flirt with the girls," Delsin said.

"He actually did that?" Eugene said, "Gross."

"Yeah," Delsin replied.

In his pocket, Delsin felt his Scroll buzz. He pulled it out and opened it to find another message from Ozpin.

 _ **"Delsin, could you and Eugene to my office please?"**_

Delsin looked at the message curiously, then shrugged.

 _ **"Sure. I'll bring the whole team and be right there."**_

 _ **"Thank you, but please, leave Alex behind. Given who I would like to introduce you to, Alex would be very... upset to say the least."**_

Delsin's confusion only grew.

 _ **"Ok, we'll be right there."**_

Delsin put away his Scroll and turned back to his teammates.

"Something wrong Delsin?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, Oz just sent me a message. He wants me and Eugene in his office," Delsin answered.

"Well let's go," Alex replied.

"Actually, he said to make sure you weren't there. Didn't say why."

Alex gave him a questioning look.

"I know, it's weird," Delsin said.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Whatever. C'mon Eugene, let's go see the big man upstairs."

Delsin grabbed Eugene and dragged him off, leaving Alex alone with an increasingly confused expression.

"Delsin?" Eugene asked.

"What?"

"Why do I get the sudden urge to start singing 'We're off to see the wizard'?"

 **O00000O00000O**

At the top of Beacon tower, looking through his office window, Ozpin and Glynda watched as the Atlesian fleet flew in. They saw a huge variety of airships, from small fighters to massive personnel carriers. Looking over the massive number of aircraft in the skies Ozpin guessed it was almost one full third of the entire fleet.

"Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work with him wherever he travels," Glynda said, her tone matching the look of contempt on her face.

"Well, running an academy and a military makes him a busy man," Ozpin replied, "But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore."

At that, Ozpin's Scroll buzzed. Someone was on their way up.

"Come in."

The doors rolled open to reveal the elevator's occupant. It was an older man with dark hair with grey sideburns and bright blue eyes. He was smiling brightly and his sparkling white uniform was completely spotless.

"Ozpin!" the man said with a jovial tone.

"Hello General," Ozpin replied flatly.

"Please, drop the formalities," he said as the two approached and shook hands, "It's been too long."

Glynda walked up.

"And Glynda!" he continued, striking an almost flirtatious tone, "It has certainly been too long since we last met."

"Oh, James," she said dismissively, "I'll be outside."

She quickly left.

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit."

"I'm glad you could come, James," Ozpin said.

"Nonsense, I was planning on coming anyway," James replied.

Oz moved behind his desk and sat down, then poured a cup of tea for each of them.

"So, I take it you know why I asked you to come?" Ozpin asked.

General Ironwood pulled up a chair and sat down.

"The... Conduits, I believe you called them?"

"Correct."

"I must say, if even half of what you've told me is true, they could easily overpower some of my best Specialists."

"I know," Ozpin said, his tone betraying a deeper meaning to his words.

Ironwood caught on immediately but didn't comment.

"So when do I get to meet them?" Ironwood asked.

 **O00000O00000O**

In the elevator, Eugene was shifting nervously.

"You ok?" Delsin asked.

"Just nervous," Eugene replied.

"Why? Oz's a cool guy."

"I feel like I've been called into the principle's office. It's never a good feeling."

Delsin laughed.

"You feel like that because you kinda _have_ been called to the principle's office," Delsin said, still laughing.

"You're not helping."

"Well, have you done anything wrong?"

"I don't think so."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about."

The elevator's doors opened. When the two of them saw Ozpin and Ironwood standing next to each other and looking right at them, Delsin leaned back over to Eugene.

"You sure you didn't do anything wrong?" he whispered.

"Gentlemen, please," Ozpin said, motioning them forward.

The two of them approached. Ozpin studied the expressions on their faces and smiled at them.

"Relax, both of you, you aren't in trouble," he said.

The two Conduits visibly untensed. At his gesture, all of them sat. Due to the lack of seats in Ozpin's office, Ironwood ended up sitting on the edge of Oz's desk. Oz steepled his hands in front of his face.

"That being said, I'm sure you're wondering why you are here," Ozpin said.

"The question had occurred to me," Delsin replied.

"Well first, some introductions," Oz said, motioning to the man to his right, "Delsin Rowe, Eugene Sims, I would like to introduce you to General James Ironwood of the Atlesian Military and Headmaster of the Atlesian Huntsman Academy."

Delsin and Eugene's eyes narrowed.

"I see why you told us to leave Alex behind," Delsin said, glaring at Ironwood.

"Indeed," Ozpin said.

General Ironwood flashed Oz a questioning glance. Oz raised his hand slightly and waved him off, effectively giving him a silent "I'll tell you later."

"So what do you want, huh?" Eugene asked, making no effort to hide his contempt, "Let me guess, something about our powers?"

"Something like that, yes," Ironwood responded.

He got up and walked around to the back of the desk, then set his Scroll down on it. As soon as the device touched the desk, it projected the holographic image of a DNA strand.

"As you know," Ozpin began, "A few days ago during Eugene's Combat evaluation, the Grimmhe was battling mutated."

"I remember," Eugene said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Then you also remember the cause of the mutation?"  
"Yeah, a corrupted Blast Shard," Delsin said.

"Correct," Ozpin said.

The holographic image coming from Ironwood's Scroll changed to an image of said Corrupted Blast Shard.

"After I checked in on you in the nurse's office, I had the staff check our containment cages for similar objects, and they found another one of those Blast Shards stuck to the inside of the cage that held the four Beowolves you fought. I had them collect it and package it, then I shipped it off to our friends in Atlas for analysis."

"Which is where I come in," Ironwood said.

He stood up and began circling the table as he continued.

"We compared the data gathered from the Blast Core we found with that of all of the Blast Shards you have since discovered and found several structural similarities," He explained.

"Makes sense. Both of them were affected by Ray energy," Eugene said, those his tone still carried a hard edge.

"Ray energy?" Ironwood asked.

Eugene sighed.

"When the Ray Sphere went off in Empire City and activated Conduits for the first time, the Ray Field Radiation, or Ray energy, irradiated a bunch of rocks and stuff and turned them into Rayacite Fragments, or Blast Shards. Meanwhile, the expended Core lost most of its power and became what we call Blast Cores," Eugene explained.

He turned to Delsin.

"Didn't you explain this to them?"

"I...tried? I'm not good with the science part of this," Delsin replied sheepishly.

Ironwood cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, we discovered several structural similarities. However, when we took a closerlook to determine the extent of the match, we found something … odd."

He touched his Scroll and zoomed in on one spot, highlighting one such similarity.

"If you look here, the mineral structure shows clear signs of mutation, something that should be impossible in _any_ kind of earth or stone. Even Dust doesn't do this," Ironwood said.

Delsin looked stumped.

"What exactly are you saying General?"

"I'm saying that this kind of change doesn't happen naturally."

The two Conduits felt their blood run cold.

"Something, or more likely some _one_ is doing this."

"But who could?" Ozpin asked.

"The only Conduit I know who could do something like that died seven years ago," Eugene said, "Joseph Bertrand."

"Hmm...," Ozpin moaned, "Do you happen to have a picture of him?"

"Sure, I read his file. I can reproduce anything that I've seen as a digital image," Eugene said, "Why?"

"Just get one to me. I need to check something."

Eugene looked at him quizzically but shrugged it off. He pulled out his Scroll and after a brief flash of pixels, he sent the photo.

"Thank you," Ozpin said as he began tapping away, "You can go, your presence is no longer required."

The two Conduits rose, confused expressions on their faces. When they were gone, Ironwood spoke up.

"So what aren't you telling them?" he asked.

Ozpin shook his head.

"Nothing really. As cliché as it sounds, I just have a bad feeling about this."

 **O00000O00000O**

Alex was in his room when he saw Blake walk past. Last he recalled, she had been in the librarywith her team, though he was almost certain that none of them were actually studying. From the brief look he had he saw that she looked troubled, so he put down his book and followed her. She left the door open and he saw her looking out the window.

"Knock knock," he said.

Blake looked over at him, startled.

"Alex," she said, exhaling in relief.

"You ok?"

She said nothing.

"I'm going to assume that means 'not quite.'"

That got him a smile.

"Ah, so those cat ears aren't for show," he said humorously.

Until that moment, Alex had no idea of Blake's mastery of side-eye. It was a lesson he would not soon forget.

"So what's wrong?" Alex asked, the humor falling out of his tone.

Blake sighed.

"Nothing's _wrong,_ I'm just... I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Mmm," Alex said, "One of those things being the White Fang?"

"Yeah," Blake said, downcast.

"So what is it about them that bothers you?"

"It's like you said, they want humanity gone. So-"

"So why would they work with one, especially one like Torchwick, is that it?"

"Yeah."

"I was actually thinking the same thing," Alex said.

"You were?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. Oddities bug me and that was an oddity."

Blake smiled.

"So," Alex said, hopping off the bed, "Let's think it through."

"Ok," Blake said, her expression growing serious.

Alex began pacing the floor.

"Any chance that Torchwick's a Faunus? It's not exactly hard to hide that. We should know," Alex asked.

"Not likely. Something about the way he talks about himself makes me think otherwise."

"Ok, now that that's off the table, we can assume that the White Fang was using him for something, correct?" Alex said, gesturing like he was marking things off a list.

"Makes sense."

"So then what would they need him for? Don't they have thieves in the White Fang?"

Blake glared at him.

"It's just a question!" he said in defense.

Blake sighed.

"Not as many as you think, actually. Most Faunus actually turn to the White Fang instead of a life of crime. And what few thieves there are, I would be willing to bet none of them have Torchwick's experience," Blake answered.

"Ok, so they need him for his criminal expertise. So, what are they stealing?"

"Dust."

"Yeah, but is that it?"

"What else would they need. They stole Dust so they could draw out a shipment and steal more Dust. Seems Dust is what they want," Blake said.

"Ok, so why? What does stealing Dust give them."

Blake had no response, and neither did Alex. Alex continued pacing. After ten minutes, he stopped, and an idea hit him square in the face.

"Wait. What happens when an entire kingdom is low on Dust?" he asked.

"They get more," Blake said.

"No, that's long-term. Torchwick doesn't do a lot of long-term planning, he doesn't have the patience! What happens in the short term?"

"Dust prices skyrocket," she began, "Manufacturing slows down-"

She stopped.

"And the Kingdom is less protected due to the lack of available weaponry and because the police and huntsmen are spread too thin trying to investigate," she said, fear creeping into her tone.

"Right!" he said, a look of triumph on his face.

His smile quickly faded.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense," he said.

"What? Why?" Blake asked.

"All of this suggests someone is trying to take down Vale. Torchwick would get nothing from that, he's in it for the money! And neither would the White Fang because there is a huge population of Faunus in Vale! So none of this makes sense!"  
Blake stood up and began pacing as well.

"Unless," she started.

The two of them looked at each other as realization dawned.

"He's working for someone," the two of them said in unison.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin and Eugene had just walked into their room when their Scrolls buzzed. Delsin reached into his pocket and fished out his Scroll. Alex had sent out a group text to everyone on Team RWBY as well as the both of them.

 _ **"Everybody, come to Team RWBY's dorm, now!"**_

The two Conduits locked eyes. In less than a second, their Scrolls were stowed and the two of them were out the door. They quickly arrived to find Alex and Blake waiting for them.

"What's wrong?" Delsin asked hastily.

"Blake and I think we've figured out Torchwick's plan," Alex said.

Delsin took half a step backward.

"Seriously?" he asked.

The two Faunus smiled.

"Yup."

Eugene raised a hand.

"I hate to interrupt, but who exactly is this Torchwick guy?" he asked.

"Right," Alex said, "Let me explain."

 **O00000O00000O**

By the time Eugene was caught up, the rest of Team RWBY had arrived. Over the next hour, Alex and Blake explained their theory. They went through their process, explaining each step that lead them to where they now were. As they spoke, they watched the looks on all of their friend's faces as the pieces fell into place in each of their heads.

When they were done, the room fell silent. Yang was the first one to speak.

"You guys have been busy," she said.

Everyone else in the room just stared at her. Ruby shook it off quickly.

"Seriously though, that's good work guys!" she said.

"Now what?" Eugene asked.

"Now we go out and kick his ass is what!" Yang said, punching her fists together.

Weiss held up a hand.

"Wait," she said, stepping in between everyone, "Before you go any further, let me once again be the voice of reason."

Alex scoffed. Weiss glared at him for a moment before she addressed the six of them.

"Just because we know all of this doesn't mean we are ready to do anything with the information. We're still students. We are not ready to handle this kind of situation!"

"Well yeah, but-" Ruby started.

"We're not ready!" Weiss shouted.

" _You're_ not ready," Eugene countered.

Weiss turned back to him.

"Me and Delsin have already been in this situation and won," he continued.

"And I am _literally_ more powerful than all four of you combined," Alex chimed in.

"That too," Eugene said.

"Hold on," Delsin said.

Delsin had been noticeably quiet throughout this. Eugene looked over his shoulder at him.

"Weiss is right," he said.

Eugene and Alex were stunned.

"We need to be smart. These guys operate in the shadows, and we've got no experience there. Plus, we need as many people on our side as we can get," Delsin said.

The two of them didn't seem quite convinced. Delsin sighed.

"No to mention the fact that none of us actually know our way around Vale."

The two of them hung their heads in defeat.

"That said, I think that if we work together," Delsin said, turning back to Team RWBY, "I think we can take him."

Ruby started bouncing like she did after her third bag of cookies.

"All in favor of becoming the youngest Huntsmen and Huntresses to single-handedly bring down an evil organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale," she said excitedly, "Say 'Aye'"

"Hold on," Delsin repeated, "Did no one hear me say we need to be smarter?"

"Huh?" Ruby said.

"While I'm sure that somehow he already knows, I'm taking this information to Ozpin. If an attack is coming, he needs to know so he can prepare," Delsin said.

Nobody bothered arguing at that point.

"Well, if no one has anything else to say, Alex, Eugene, c'mon. We gotta go talk to the big man upstairs," Delsin continued, "You four, get some sleep. It's late and we're not doing anything until tomorrow at the earliest."

The members of Team RWBY all nodded as Team CNDT left the room.

When the door closed, Delsin pulled out his Scroll.

 _ **"Oz, is General Ironwood still in your office?"**_

A minute later, his Scroll buzzed.

 _ **"Yes, why?"**_

 _ **"Well get him out of there. Alex discovered something and we're on our way back up. I don't need to tell you how many ways that could go wrong."**_

 _ **"Indeed. Give me two minutes."**_

 **O00000O00000O**

Five minutes later, Team CNDT got off the elevator to Ozpin's office.

"Do come in," Ozpin said, waving them forward.

"Do you have a whiteboard?" Alex asked as they walked.

"Back wall."

Alex broke off to go get it.

"So? What is it you've discovered?" Ozpin asked.

"Hang on," Delsin said, "It'll be better if Alex explains."

Ozpin nodded as the two Conduits sat down. A minute later, Alex had a full diagram drawn on his whiteboard.

"Better strap in Headmaster," Alex said, "We're gonna be here for a while."

Oz nodded.

Over the next hour, Alex explained everything again, making sure to cover every last detail. Ozpin listened attentively, taking it all it. Delsin and Eugene just sat silently, only commenting when they felt they had something to add.

When Alex finished, Ozpin spoke up.

"This is troubling indeed if it is the case. What led you to even start this?" he asked.

"It was something Blake said. Torchwick isn't just a human, he's a scumbag. So, why is the White Fang working with him? Starting from there, I walked it through logically and no matter where I went, I got here," Alex said.

"I see," Ozpin said, "And I suppose you are planning to do something about it?"

"Not without your say-so Oz," Delsin said.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Ozpin considered that.

"What would you be doing exactly?" he asked.

"Not sure yet, though we'll be working with Team RWBY to come up with a plan," Eugene said.

"I see."

Ozpin closed his eyes and pondered everything he'd heard.

"Well, if you were waiting for my approval, wait no longer," Ozpin said, "You have it."

The three of them nodded and left.

Ozpin stood and walked to his window, pouring himself a rare glass of scotch. As he looked out over Beacon and Vale beyond it, he smiled.

 _"I said we would be ready,"_ he thought, _"And now? We are."_

He didn't hear it, but at that moment, his computer dinged softly. The image he'd been running against the Kingdom's surveillance cameras, the image Eugene provided him, just finished processing.

It found a match.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Well, guys, I think I've finally gotten back into my writing groove.**

 **Please don't forget to review. Let me know what you think I should work on, I do listen when you guys talk to me. And once again let me say thank you to all of my loyal followers, I really appreciate you guys.**


	19. Chapter 19

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 19: Extracurricular**

 **O00000O00000O**

As classes let out the next day, the seven members of Teams RWBY and CNDT hurried back to their rooms to gear up. Team CNDT only needed a few minutes, seeing as they didn't actually have a lot of gear, but they stocked up on extra supplies to give Team RWBY time to prepare. After twenty minutes, Ruby sent them a message saying they were ready.

When they arrived, they heard Blake talking.

"I thought that class would never end," she said.

"Tell me about it," Delsin commented, "How one man can be so boring is beyond me."

"You're here!" Ruby said, bubbling with excitement.

Team CNDT walked into the room, serious looks on their faces. The mood of the room immediately shifted. The only remaining bit of laughter to be found came from Alex's obvious attempts to avoid staring at Yang's new outfit.

"Hey birdbrain," Yang said, "My eyes are up here."

Alex's face turned bright red and he immediately took a keen interest in the floor. Yang, Blake, as well as both of Alex's teammates, chuckled at his reaction. Weiss rolled her eyes, while Ruby was left adorably clueless. Once the moment passed, the serious tone came back.

"Everybody ready?" Delsin asked.

"Yep," Ruby replied.

"Good. Let's go through the plan one more time," Delsin continued.

"Ruby and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee Company records for any other Dust Robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem," Weiss said.

"Right. I'm going with you guys in case anything happens," Delsin said.

"Wait, why?" Ruby asked.

"Ozpin only approved the mission if one of us accompanied each team," Eugene said.

"Oh."

"Blake?"

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning," she said.

"Good," Delsin said, "Eugene? You're with her."

"Hang on, why isn't Alex going to the Faunus meeting?" Eugene asked.

"Because I wouldn't be able to blend in. I'm one of the only remaining Bird Faunus and the only one in Vale. Add to that the fact that I've already fought the Vale chapter of the White Fang, they would recognize me in no time," Alex explained.

Eugene nodded.

"Yang?" Delsin asked.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows _everything_ going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard," Yang said.

"Right. I'll be going with you," Alex said.

"Why am I not surprised," Weiss whispered.

Alex glared at her.

"Then we'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we've found," Delsin said.

"Let's do this!" Ruby said.

"Yeah!" they heard a voice say.

The seven of them turned to find the voice hanging just outside the window. Upside down.

"Sun?!" Blake asked as all of them quickly backed away.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked.

"Ah it's easy, I do it all the time!" Sun replied.

"What," Alex said, power tensing in his hands.

"I climb trees all the time!"

He jumped into the room.

"So are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" the monkey Faunus asked.

" _We,"_ Blake began, "are going to investigate the situation."

"As in, just us," Alex said, his tone a little harsh.

"Sorry Sun, we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to," Ruby said apologetically.

"Pfft, that's dumb. You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune," Sun said, pointing back out the window.

They all rushed to look out the window, only to find a certain blue-haired individual standing on the ledge just outside.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways," Neptune replied.

Delsin looked down the wall.

"Not bad man," he commented.

"Thanks. Seriously though, can I come in? We're, like, _really_ high up right now."

They pulled him in and spent a few minutes making sure both of them were up to speed on the plan. Luckily, they had overheard most of it.

"Ok, so," Delsin started, "Sun, you go with Blake and Eugene. Neptune, you go with Yang and Alex."

Alex's expression drooped ever so slightly, though no one was paying attention to him at the moment so he was spared from further ridicule. Weiss started to say something, but Delsin cut her off.

"If that's everything, I think it's time we get this show on the road," he said, "Everybody, grab your shit and let's go."

 **O00000O00000O**

"Wow. That is a _biiiiiiiiiig_ tower," Delsin said, his craning his neck to take it all in.

"I know right?" Ruby asked excitedly, "Isn't it awesome?!"

"You should see the one in Atlas," Weiss commented.

"That was the first one right?" Delsin asked, "I think I read about that."

"Correct," Weiss answered in a very teacher-esque tone, "Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System so the four Kingdoms could communicate."

"After the massive amount of asshattery they pulled in the Great War I am not surprised one bit," Delsin said.

"Hey!"

"What? Did I say something?" Delsin commented, a sly grin on his face.

Ruby giggled and Weiss glared at the both of them, but Delsin just smiled. All in good fun.

"Relax, it was just a joke."

"Don't be a pest," she said, "The only reason we're even here is that Ruby wanted to see the Tower. We could have just as easily made a call from the library."

"Lay off Weiss, she's a little kid, she's allowed to be excited," Delsin said.

"Hey, I'm fifteen!" Ruby said defensively.

"Wait really?" Delsin said, genuinely surprised, "I thought you were like, twelve."

Ruby's face puffed up in pouty anger, which only made Delsin and Weiss smile. Delsin quickly turned back to the tower and looked up at its top.

"Is it weird that I kinda wanna climb it?" Delsin said.

"Are you crazy? It's over 700 feet tall!" Weiss told him.

"Your point?" Delsin asked, his hand going to his wrist.

In a blast of purple light, Delsin was gone.

"And there he goes," Weiss groaned.

The two of them watched as Delsin's light trail raced up the side of the building.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Hm?" Weiss replied, only half listening.

"You knew I'm fifteen, right?"

Weiss said nothing. A moment later, the light-trail stopped and Ruby's Scroll buzzed.

 _ **"Hey, guys!"**_ Delsin's voice said.

"Delsin, would you get down here? We've got work to do!" Weiss called.

 _ **"Relax, I'll be down in a second. Ruby, take a picture?"**_ Delsin replied.

"You got it," Ruby said, feeling giddy.

Ruby turned her Scroll's camera on and aimed it up at the top of the tower. She zoomed in and clicked the capture button.

"Got it!" Ruby said.

Without a word, Delsin ended the call.

"Delsin?" Ruby asked.

Weiss sighed.

"Up there," she said, pointing up.

Ruby looked up.

Delsin, in his infinite wisdom, had _jumped off_ the CCT tower. As he fell, Delsin smiled. More and more people caught sight of his crazy stunt and some started recording it. Ruby and Weiss took identical poses that more or less said: 'not this again.' Though Ruby still had her camera trained on him the whole way down.

Inches before he touched the ground, Delsin dropped and set off a Stasis Bubble, with an extra bit of flair thrown in. Light streaked off him in a myriad of ways, as he collided with the ground. The effect gave his impact the appearance of an explosion, and Delsin grinned at his showmanship. The crowd gave him a round of applause but quickly dissipated after that. After he was done basking in the glow of his own awesomeness, Delsin walked back to his friends.

"Really Delsin?" Weiss asked.

"What? Jumping off's the fun part."

"Can we get going now?" Ruby asked.

"Sure Ruby, let's go make that call."

 **O00000O00000O**

The call itself didn't take very long. They were in and out of the tower within five minutes. Once they were done, the sat down in the back corner of a small coffee shop at Weiss's insistence.

"We may be trying to catch a thief, but remember these are internal Schnee Company Documents," Weiss explained, "Be careful with them."

Delsin nodded.

"You got it, Weiss," he said.

The three of them got to work. Over the next three hours, they poured over shipping manifests, delivery receipts, financial statements, everything Weiss had gotten them. So far, there wasn't a lot they didn't already know about. Ruby tapped out after one hour, stepping away to "go polish her hood." By the end of the third hour though, Delsin stopped and placed his head in his hands.

"I should have sent Alex with you guys," he said.

"Why?" Weiss asked, still hard at work.

"Because this kind of … data … sifting … _stuff_ … is more what he's good at," Delsin replied.

"So then why didn't you send him?" Weiss asked.

Delsin sighed.

"I wanted to be nice," he said.

It took her all of three seconds to figure out what he meant. Weiss grinned.

"I wonder how they're doing?" Weiss asked sarcastically.

 **O00000O00000O**

Yang, Neptune, and Alex arrived at Yang's contact's work address a little after dark. Once she'd parked, Alex touched down next to her. He'd followed from the air for two reasons. First, he'd wanted to make sure no one was following them. Second, much to his chagrin, there wasn't enough room on Bumblebee for three people.

"This the place?" Alex asked, eyes on the door.

"Yep. He runs this place," Yang said, "It's how he got the nickname."

"Huh," Alex replied, "I'd have thought the nickname came first."

"Nope."

Neptune groaned as he managed to slide his way off the back of the motorcycle.

"Did you two really have to race each other here?" he asked.

"Yep," the two of them said simultaneously.

Neptune just sighed.

 **O00000O00000O**

Inside the club, two of the bouncers ran inside, looking terrified.

"Hurry, close the doors, she's coming!" one of them said.

From behind the bar, Junior looked up.

"What are you two idiots doing?!" he yelled, his expression deadly.

The two of them started babbling, trying in vain to explain the oncoming danger. Though to be fair, once the doors blew up, Junior found out pretty quick. As Yang walked in, most of his employees ran and hid. The DJ hid under his table, making the needle on his table skip.

"Guess who's back!" she called.

Within two seconds, there were no less than fifteen guns on her. Alex walked forward from behind her.

"Now that's no way to treat a lady," he said chastisingly.

He swept his hand upwards. The gangsters watched in horror as their guns were forcefully pointed towards the ceiling. Neptune creeped out from behind the both of them.

"Yeah, so could you define friend for me?" Neptune asked.

"Stop! Stop!" Junior shouted, "Nobody shoot!"

Pushing through his guards, Junior walked forward.

"Blondie. You're here. Why?" Junior said, genuinely confused.

"You," she began, "still owe me a drink."

She strolled forward. She grabbed Junior by the arm and pulled him along back to the bar. Neptune's mouth was hanging open by this point.

"Woah," he said, "What a woman."

Immediately, Alex flicked his hand and all of the guns in the room pointed at Neptune. The blue-haired playboy snapped to fearful attention and turned to face Alex.

"Not for you," Alex said.

Without another word, Alex dropped his hand. Turning his back on Neptune, Alex walked back to Yang. At the bar, she was engaged in a rather loud argument with the owner.

"How can you _not_ know?" she yelled.

"I haven't talked to him," Junior said, his voice hard, "I haven't even _seen_ him since the night you first came in here. He paid up front, I lent him my men and none of them. Ever. Came. Back."

"Hazard a guess then?" Alex offered, standing just behind Yang.

Junior sighed.

"No idea. Literally," he said, "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm not the one you should be worried about right now," Alex said, pointing back to Yang.

"He's right," she said, punching her open hand. Her eyes flared red.

Junior got up and leaned over the bar.

"I already told you everything. Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them."

He turned to face said boys.

"Which is something I can relate to!"

The scattered goons began shuffling about, their heads hung in shame. Yang sighed.

"C'mon you two. We're done here," she said.

"We get everything we need?" Neptune asked.

"Well, we got everything we can," Yang told him, "Hopefully the rest of the team's having better luck."

 **O00000O00000O**

At the same time as Yang and the rest were entering the Junior's, Blake, Sun and Eugene were standing in a dark alley, just around the corner from a secret White Fang meeting.

"This the place?" Eugene asked.

"Yeah," Blake replied.

"Well let's go," Sun said.

The three of them approached the door. As they walked Blake undid her bow. When they got close, the bouncer, a rather gentlemanly wolf Faunus, opened the door to let them through. He was about to close the door behind them when his eyes locked onto Eugene.

"You there. Stop," he said.

The three of them turned around.

"What is it?" Blake asked.

"I'm terribly sorry," he began, his eyes narrowing on Eugene, "but I'm afraid I must ask your friend to lower his hood."

"Why?" Blake asked, only a hair too quickly.

"It's ok Blake," Eugene said, "He's only doing his job."

Eugene turned back to the doorman. As the hood fell back, the doorman quickly gasped. Atop Eugene's head was a pair of dog ears that appeared to have been sliced off, leaving only a tiny bit remaining just at his hairline.

"I'm sorry. I don't like to show them," he said, pulling his hood back up.

"I'm so sorry," the man said, "Some humans are truly despicable."

"Yes," Eugene replied, "Yes they are."

The man nodded respectfully to him and closed turned away. The second the door closed, Blake turned to him.

"I thought you were a human?" she asked.

Eugene smirked and leaned over. The damaged ears on his head vanished in a small flash of blue. Then, quick as they were gone, Eugene flashed again and they were back.

"Cooooooool," Sun said.

"My powers are _very_ versatile," he said.

Blake nodded.

They kept walking. After a while, Sun stopped.

"Hang on. I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?" Sun asked.

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters," Blake explained.

"Grimm masks. That's more than a little creepy," Eugene said.

"Tell that to the guy who started it."

Eugene nodded.

"Always sunshine and rainbows with you," Sun commented.

Once again, Blake's use of side-eye was on point.

The three of them made their way into the main storage area of the warehouse, which also doubled as a kind of makeshift auditorium. On all sides of them, Faunus of every stripe walked past. One actually _had_ stripes. As they filed in towards the front, a huge brute of a Faunus in a full face mask walked onto center-stage.

"Thank you all for coming," he said, "For those of you joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours."

As the "special comrade" walked forward, a hail of booing arose from the crowd. The three Huntsmen students looked up, curious. When they saw who the subject of the booing was, the color drained from their faces.

"I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for so long," the MC continued.

"Oh, _shit_ ," Eugene whispered.

"Got that right," Sun continued.

On the stage, with his cane and everything, stood the smug form of Roman Torchwick.

 **O00000O00000O**

"Find anything yet?" Delsin asked.

"Nothing spectacular at any rate," Weiss answered.

"So what _have_ you found?"

"Well, whatever plan Torchwick and the White Fang are enacting, it is definitely confined to Vale, at least for the moment. No record of any major string of Dust robberies or thefts outside this Kingdom."

"Well, that's something I guess," Delsin commented, "Anything else?"

"Not really. There's no pattern to the thefts, so there's no way to determine a location, and past that, there's really not a lot to be learned here. Though there is this."

She handed him a piece of paper. Delsin took it and looked it over.

"What exactly am I looking at?" he asked.

"It's a report I made while I was working," Weiss explained, "It details how much Dust has been shipped here versus how much has been received by the various stores carrying Schnee Dust Company products."

Delsin looked it over again. His eyes widened.

"That's it?!" Delsin exclaimed.

"Less than twenty percent," Weiss commented, "And that's not even considering how much has been stolen after it's been received."

"Jeez. That's one hell of a deep hole," Delsin said.

Weiss nodded. Delsin felt his pocket start buzzing and pulled out his Scroll.

"Who is it?" Weiss asked.

"Eugene," he told her, placing his Scroll on the table and turning it on Speaker.

"What'cha got Eugene?" he asked.

 _ **"Well, you wanted Torchwick."**_

 __Delsin and Weiss's eyes widened.

 **O00000O00000O**

"We found him," Eugene said into his Scroll.

 _ **"What?!"**_ Delsin cried.

"Hang on, he's talking. Listen," Blake said.

On the stage, Torchwick was acting just as smug as usual.

"Thank you, thank you!" he began, "Please, hold your applause."

"What's a human doing here?!" a Deer Faunus in the crowd shouted.

"I'm glad you asked, _deerie_ ," he said, making a pun out of that particular Faunus's heritage.

Torchwick began pacing along the stage.

"Now I'll be the first to admit, humans are the worst. Case in point," he said, gesturing to himself, "So, I understand why you would love to see us all locked away. Or better yet, killed!"

The jeers of the crowd slowly started to turn to cheers as he continued his tirade.

"Is he going anywhere with this?" Sun asked.

Eugene shrugged.

"You guys getting this?" Blake asked.

 _ **"Loud and clear,"**_ Delsin answered, _ **"And I looped in the rest of the team too."**_

 _ **"Hey, guys!"**_ Ruby called.

"And they're all pests that need to be dealt with!" Torchwick continued, "Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around. No offense to any rodents in the room."

Torchwick snapped his fingers. The cloth backdrop with the White Fang insignia that was taking up the rear of the stage fell away. When Blake and Sun saw what had been behind it, the color drained from their faces. After all, giant robots tend to have that effect on people.

"Delsin," Eugene said, his voice shaking ever so slightly, "I'm sending you a photo."

Eugene clicked send. He heard Delsin gasp on the other end of the line.

 _ **"What the hell is that?!"**_ Delsin asked.

 _ **"Wait! I saw that thing earlier! General Ironwood was introducing it in Beacon Square!"**_ Ruby squealed.

 _ **"Atlas Tech. Lovely,"**_ Alex said.

 _ **"It's an Atlesian Paladin,"**_ Weiss said, _ **"But how did he get one? They haven't even hit the market yet."**_

 __"As some of you may have heard, this right here," Torchwick said, knocking on the giant robot's knee, "is Atlas's newest line of defense against all of the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they … hit the shelves."  
 _ **"That answers that question at least,"**_ Alex said.

 _ **"Looks like you were right. He is working for someone,"**_ Weiss said.

"Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city... that's fine. But, if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, _this_ is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?" Torchwick said.

The crowd roared. Blake turned to her two compatriots.

"We should get out of here," she told them.

"Would all new recruits please come forward," the MC called.

"Shit!" Eugene said quietly.

"What are we gonna do?!" Sun whispered.

"I'm thinking," Blake hissed back.

Just then, Torchwick craned his head forward. His eyes locked onto the three of them and narrowed.

"Crap. He's spotted us," Eugene said.

Blake grinned.

"Too bad he can't see in the dark," she said slyly.

In one fluid motion, Blake withdrew Gambol Shroud from its sheath and took aim at the electrical panel just behind the stage. She took her shot and managed to knock out the lights in the warehouse. The second the room went black, everyone started shouting, either trying to find out what happened or trying to stop the people who did it.

"Guys, the window!" Blake shouted.

"Stop 'em!" Torchwick yelled.

The Paladin wound up. The glass window broke, and the three of them quickly made their exit. Sun and Blake started running as soon as they hit the ground. Eugene however, stayed in the air, flying just behind them. As soon as they were clear of the wall, Torchwick broke it down, having climbed into the Paladin's piloting chamber.

The three of them went as fast as they could, but Torchwick was right behind them. After several feats of incredible acrobatics and hundreds of thousands of Lien in property damage, Sun spoke up.

"No, no guys, take your time! We're only _running for our lives!_ " Sun cried.

 _ **"Don't have to be so rude about it,"**_ Alex said jokingly.

 _ **"Where are you guys?!"**_ Ruby asked.

"Just south of the highway!" Blake shouted.

 _ **"We're right near you! Be right there!"**_ Yang said.

They kept running. Eugene took a moment to open fire on Torchwick with his Bloodthirsty Blades, but they did absolutely nothing. They didn't even slow it down. Inside the cockpit, Torchwick smirked. Eugene dropped altitude.

"Damn," he said, "What the Hell's that thing made of?!"

 _ **"It was designed with an electromagnetic barrier to block energy attacks!"**_ Weiss called.

"Now you tell me!" Eugene shouted.

The three of them quickly arrived at the highway. Blake and Sun started jumping off of the rooftops of cars just to stay out of Torchwick's range. Eugene let loose a few more volleys of Bloodthirsty Blades, but they did about as much as the first. Luckily for them though, Yang and her team were in fact right behind him.

"We have to slow it down!" Yang shouted.

"On it!" Alex and Neptune shouted.

Unfortunately, Torchwick's robo-suit had highly advanced sensors. He had seen them coming. He started charging forward, barreling through cars in a way that sent them flying right at the three behind him.

"Shit!" Alex shouted.

As Yang swerved to avoid the flying cars, Alex climbed. With his magnetism powers, he grabbed onto the cars and did his best to guide them back down to the street safely. Evidently, Torchwick had no problem murdering the people in them.

Even so, he quickly ran out of cars to throw. In the short opening he had, Neptune pulled his gun off his back and opened fire. One of his shots missed, but the other three landed and made the robot stumble. When he saw that his shots weren't doing much, he stood up, turned his weapon to its melee form, that of a naginata, and leaped into the air.

He landed on the back of the robot and stabbed it in its mechanical shoulder. Torchwick immediately began trying to throw him off, swinging his robot wildly in every direction he could. As Sun and Blake landed on their next car, they saw it happening.

"Neptune, hang on!" Sun shouted.

"I got him!" Alex shouted.

The bird Faunus dove in and pulled him off. He managed to avoid getting swatted by Torchwick's attacks but carrying someone while flying wasn't an easy feat for him.

"We need to force him off the road!" Alex shouted, "There are too many people here!"

"We got it!" he heard Weiss shout.

Just then, they caught sight of a glowing purple figure dodging between the cars behind them. Those who had seen it before quickly recognized Delsin in his Neon form, and he was gaining fast. Just as managed to catch up to them, Delsin dropped out of his Light Dash and switched to his Concrete power, then quickly picked up a Boulder Dash.

He'd needed to slow down.

"Weiss! You in position?" Delsin shouted.

"Yes!" she replied.

"Go for it!"

Weiss had been standing on one of the highway roads above them. Just as Torchwick was about to pass underneath her, she jumped down. Inside his Mecha, Torchwick grinned, thinking she would be an easy target.

He thought wrong.

As soon as she landed, Weiss twirled and jabbed her Myrtenaster into the road. Directly in front of Torchwick's legs, the road spiked. It wasn't a big spike, in fact, it was only just big enough to get the job done. As Torchwick's Mecha's foot hit the spike, it tripped and its own momentum catapulted it into the air. Delsin smiled and jumped along with him.

"Hey, Torchwick! You may wanna grit your teeth!" Delsin yelled.

With his entire body still surrounded by Concrete, Delsin punched the robot. It didn't take any real damage, but the force was more than enough to send the thing flying off the road. It landed with a heavy thud only a few feet away from where Ruby was ready and waiting. Within seconds, the other eight of them joined her, surrounding him.

"Give it up Torchwick!" Alex shouted, "We have you surrounded."

Torchwick laughed.

"Wrong!" he said through the speakers, "You just given me a target rich environment!"

The missile launchers on his shoulders opened fire. Team RWBY scattered, as did Sun and Neptune, but the members of Team CNDT stood their ground. Delsin summoned a Concrete Wall and blocked the one targeting him. Eugene simply raised a hand and fired a Video Torrent, making the missile detonate prematurely.

Alex took a different route. With his telekinesis, he grabbed hold of the missile and turned it around, making it fly directly at Torchwick. The missile detonated against the Mecha's frame. Inside the cockpit, warning lights were flashing, telling Torchwick that he had finally taken real damage. Then, Alex magnetically grabbed Neptune's weapon, which was still lodged in the thing's shoulder form when Neptune stabbed it earlier, and pulled it through, slicing through the robot's arm.

The three of them looked dead at him, unflinching. Torchwick grimaced, then smiled as his sensors indicated a target-lock. He opened fire on them with his robot's plasma blasters, this time forcing the three of them to scatter.

"Ruby! Blind it!" Delsin shouted.

"On it!" she shouted in reply, "Freezer Burn!"

On cue, Weiss surged forward. She jabbed Myrtenaster into the ground once again, this time covering the area around her in a sheet of ice. Using her Ember Celica, Yang vaulted into the air, then came crashing down and punched the ice. The explosive force of the blow literally vaporized the ice, turning it into a fine mist, obscuring the Paladin's sensors.

"Sun, give him something to shoot at!" Blake called.

Sun smirked. He placed his hands together like he was praying. At his sides, two shining golden phantom duplicates of him appeared. Those clones shot forward and began to circle around the Paladin. In his frustration, Torchwick opened fire again, aiming wildly.

From the safety of the obscuring smoke, Neptune opened fire as well, Alex having returned his weapon. The Paladin started reeling, only to abruptly jerk downward, now stuck with one leg halfway in the ground. Torchwick turned his optic sensors, only to find a smirking Delsin right beneath him. Apparently, he'd gotten creative and drained the Concrete beneath the Paladin's foot.

"You little PEST!" Torchwick screamed.

Before Delsin could react, the Paladin swung and sent him flying. He crashed into and then _through_ one of the concrete support pillars holding up the road. For a relative novice like him, it was too much. His Aura broke, as did several of his ribs and his right arm.

"Delsin!" Ruby screamed.

In a flash of rose petals, she was at his side. He was bleeding heavily, but he was alive. She sighed in relief.

"Delsin! Are you ok?" she asked.

Delsin gave her a weak thumbs up.

"I'll be ok," he said, his voice strained, "But it'll be a minute."

He wasn't lying. His fast-healing, while incredible, had its limits. Healing eight broken bones, as well as all of the other injuries he'd just sustained, was going to take time. With his good arm, he waved Ruby off, telling her to go help the others. Then, he switched to his Water power. Ever since he'd absorbed the Blast Core, he'd found that that power increased his healing abilities when it was active.

Enraged by his partner's injury, Alex roared. From his pocket, he produced a small metal canister and magnetically tore it open, revealing a massive amount of iron dust **(Like the kind you use with magnets, not Dust dust)**. Alex flung the iron dust forward. While the Paladin's electromagnetic barrier kept Alex from manipulating it directly, with this move, he'd turned it into a disadvantage.

The iron dust quickly latched onto the Paladin's joints, locking them in place. Alex ate a Lightning Crystal and slowly walked forward.

"You like fire so much Torchwick," he yelled, "LET'S SEE HOW YOU FRY!"

Alex mercilessly unloaded a massive lightning bolt, using the entire crystal in one blow. The blast overpowered the electromagnetic barrier and struck the Paladin directly. Inside the machine, Torchwick screamed in agony as he was electrocuted with no remorse.

However, in his rage, Alex made a critical mistake. One that, once the lightning attack was over, Torchwick was more than happy to exploit. See, once Alex shorted out the barrier, the iron dust fell away, meaning Torchwick was free to move again. The red-haired criminal quickly opened the hatch on his missile launchers and opened fire. Alex only barely managed to collect enough iron dust to form a shield, but the impact sent him flying as well.

The bird Faunus didn't even get a chance to _try_ and break his fall. The blast had knocked him unconscious. Luckily, Eugene caught him and brought him down safely. But the blast had also managed to get rid of the fog that was hiding them. Neptune kept firing until his gun clicked empty.

"We need to end this now," Weiss said.

"Eugene?" Ruby called.

"On it," he replied.

"No, cover your teammates," she told him, "We'll need all of you if we can't bring him down."

Eugene nodded. He picked up Alex and took him over to Delsin's side. Torchwick groaned and managed to get his Paladin out of the ground.

"Ice flowers!" Ruby shouted.

Ruby stuck the blade of Crescent Rose into the ground and Weiss layered three Glyphs on the end. The two of them opened fire, Ruby's bullets being amplified by Weiss's ice. As the bullets collided, ice sprouted from the joints of the Paladin, stopping its movements once again. Torchwick was getting _very_ frustrated.

"Give him everything you got!" Ruby shouted.

 **O00000O00000O**

Off to the side, Delsin was willing himself to heal faster. His healing factor had only healed his surface wounds and had only just begun to heal the internal damage. He guessed it would take at least two more minutes to be fight ready. To make things worse, his Aura still hadn't recovered, so even if he did, he'd be extra vulnerable.

Eugene was standing by him, making sure that he and Alex were ok. Alex still hadn't woken up, but he was beginning to. Delsin was beginning to regret coming and bringing his friends into this.

But as he thought that, he felt something. His Aura started to rebuild, but he felt something more coming with it. Something he couldn't quite explain. He looked down at his hands, then clenched them. And he smiled.

 **O00000O00000O**

All six of them blasted him. In the cockpit, Torchwick saw that his Paladin was heavily in the red. It couldn't take much more. Growing desperate, he raced forward, easily dodging most of the blasts. He returned fire with his plasma blasters, forcing the six of them to scatter. He loosed one more volley of missiles, targeting them. Most of them weren't able to dodge in time. With one exception.

Yang shot forward, propelling herself with her Ember Celica. Torchwick switched his Paladin to its melee mode and reengaged. The two traded blow after blow, neither managing to land anything decisive. Yang was having a small problem though. She was using he Celica to dodge, and she was about out of ammo. She knew, the second she stopped to reload, she was going to get nailed.

The moment came. She did her best to dodge out of the way, but she mistimed it. She prepped herself to take the blow. Then, to her dismay, it didn't come. She opened her eyes to find that the arm that was about to hit her was no longer attached to the rest of the robot. Fresh water was on the ground.

"Hey!" she heard a voice say behind her.

Team CNDT was standing side by side. Delsin had his good arm raised, pointing right at the Paladin.

"Pick on someone your own size," Eugene said.

"That supposed to be a joke?" Torchwick replied, "You're not even half my size."

Eugene's eyes glowed and in a flash, He Who Dwells took his place.

"YOU WERE SAYING?" the titanic angles said.

"Huh," Torchwick said, "Nevermind."

Alex stepped forward. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a solid black Crystal. He ate it quickly and his white hair turned jet black. Torchwick fired the remainder of his missiles, but it didn't matter. Alex held up one hand and stopped them all. He closed his hand and crushed them, then swept the explosion to the side like it was nothing.

"That all you got?" Alex asked.

Torchwick readied his remaining plasma blaster. Delsin walked forward and followed up with another Pressure Slice, cutting off the robot's other arm.

"Because it won't be enough," Delsin said.

He Who Dwells spread his arms and summoned seven Wingmen. All of them opened fire with blasts of light, destroying the rest of Torchwick's Paladin.

"YOU HURT OUR FRIENDS," he said, "YOU THREATENED OUR HOME."

They stood next to each other, hands outstretched.

"That will be your last mistake!" they shouted, each unloading on him.

With the amount of power the three of them let loose in that moment, no one thought he would still be standing after that. But as the attack faded, they saw that he was fine. Instead, there was a lacy umbrella between them that seemed to have somehow blocked the entire blow.

The umbrella twirled away to reveal a small girl with pink and brown hair and eyes. Delsin would have thought she was cute if it weren't for the murderous look in her eyes. Eugene however, couldn't help himself. He thought she was adorable. She gave them a small bow.

Yang shot at her, more than a little worked up after the fight. Once again, the umbrella blocked the shot. Somehow. Yang burst forward to try and punch her, but the second her fist collided with the little girl's face, the girl and Torchwick shattered like glass. Behind them, they heard a VTOL take off and fly away.

"Dammit!" Yang shouted, "They got away!"

"No," Alex said.

Eugene dropped out of his He Who Dwells form and the three of them stood together again. Delsin switched to his Neon power

"No he hasn't," the bird Faunus repeated.

The three of them took off. Alex and Eugene flew after them with Delsin following along the ground. Alex reached out a hand and used his Gravity control to slow them down. The VTOL slowed to a crawl and the three of them quickly caught up. The rest of the team was following behind, doing their best to keep up with Team CNDT, though only Ruby was having any success.

The pilots tried to shake them, they even fired at them, but it didn't even slow them down. Eugene sliced through one wing with his Digital Longsword and sent the VTOL spiraling downward. Alex turned the thing on its side and ripped open the doors so the passengers fell out. Delsin threw a Stasis Bubble just below them to capture them.

When he could no longer hold it, Alex dropped the VTOL and it exploded, sending shrapnel flying. Delsin ignored it and began restraining all of the criminals. Though as he did, he noticed the girl with the umbrella was gone.

"Hey," he said, looking at Torchwick, "Where's the girl?"

Torchwick just spat in his face.

"Whatever. We still got you."

The three members of Team CNDT looked at each other, allowing themselves to revel in their victory.

It didn't last long.

"Oh my god! RUBY!" Yang screamed.

The three of them turned in a hurry. Ruby was on the ground, her sister standing just over her. They bolted over to see what was wrong. When they arrived, it was not a pretty sight.

Ruby had a piece of shrapnel embedded in her torso, just a few centimeters away from her heart. She was bleeding profusely and she only barely had a pulse. Her breathing was shallow and thready. She was inches from death.

"Please, no! Ruby! Don't leave me!" Yang cried.

She turned to face Delsin.

"Please! You have to do something!"

Delsin nodded and switched to his Water power. He quickly began trying to heal the wound but it was too much. The damage was too extensive and he was too tired. If he tried to move her and get her to a hospital, she would never survive the trip. There was nothing he or anyone else could do for her.

"What's wrong, why isn't it working?!" Yang shouted.

"I don't know," Delsin whispered.

Yang started shouting at him, at her sister, at everyone. Alex tried to calm her down, but she punched him in the gut, then started screaming about how it was his fault. How if he'd only been more careful then none of this would have happened. Alex said nothing. He was already feeling the same way.

"Yang, stop," Weiss said harshly.

Yang glared at her, her eyes red from both her tears and her Semblance.

"There's nothing we can do," Weiss said.

Yang stopped and collapsed into tears. She cried and cried, clinging to her sisters dying body, feeling the life leave her. Delsin hung his head in shame. He stared at the body of the first friend he'd made. Rose petals began to swirl around her, the last vestige of her fading soul. For the first time in a long time, for all his powers, he was helpless once again.

Or was he?

Delsin's head snapped up as he remembered the rising feeling from earlier, the feeling of something new manifesting in his soul. He latched onto that feeling, holding onto it with everything he had. He focused on it so hard it felt like he was going to break his mind in two. Then he opened his eyes to see his hands were glowing even brighter than he had ever seen them, his Aura flaring like a newborn star.

"Maybe there is something," he said quietly.

He knelt back down to Ruby's side and took her hands in his. Once again, he focused on that feeling of power. He willed that light back to his hands. He willed that power to come, just like he did with all of his others. Slowly, he began to feel something else. The more his power rose, the more it fell. The more he called it up, the more he lost it. Yet somehow, he knew where it was going.

It was flowing into Ruby.

"What's going on?" Yang asked, hope returning to her voice, "What are you doing?"

Delsin smiled.

"Call me crazy," he said, "but I think I just found my Semblance."

Yang gasped and her eyes fell back to Ruby. The light from Delsin's hands faded, but color started returning to Ruby's face, and her breathing started to normalize. Her pulse quickened. Alex's eyes widened and he quickly ripped the shrapnel out of her chest. Delsin wasn't even touching her anymore, but the wound began to close before their eyes. It was slow, but she was healing.

Ruby was going to live.

"Yang?" she said weakly.

Yang's eyes brightened and she hugged her sister tight.

"What did you do?" Eugene asked, his eyes wide.

Delsin smiled.

"I loaned her my powers," he said, "At least for a little while."

"How do you know?" Alex asked.

Delsin shrugged.

"I just do."

"You healed her," Yang said, "That's all that matters."

Delsin smiled and nodded. A few minutes later, a transport arrived that took their new prisoners into custody, then took the nine of them back to Beacon. On their way back, they all got a message from Ozpin. They could tell him all about what had happened in the morning. Tonight, they needed rest. And so, that's exactly what they did.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Wow, that chapter was long. Seriously, I'm looking at the word document and it is twenty-three pages long. Most of my other chapters barely pass twelve. I just really didn't want to make this two chapters, I felt like that would ruin the flow. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **We also found out what Delsin's Semblance is, so there's that. I actually wasn't planning on putting it in this early, but the opportunity just kind of appeared and I went with it. Don't worry, I'll be releasing a full explanation of how it works in the next chapter.**

 **Alright, see you all in two weeks!**


	20. Chapter 20

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 20: The Dark Road**

 **O00000O00000O**

 **As I'm sure many of you know, I already posted Chapter 20. But, the chapter I posted... was not very good. There was a very big tone consistency problem, and the scene with Eugene and Coco was entirely irrelevant. So, I wrote a new one. I only hope I can get this out there fast enough.**

 **O00000O00000O**

In the week since his capture, Torchwick had managed to divulge absolutely nothing. Oz walked out of his latest interrogation session with Torchwick. Delsin and Eugene were waiting for him, just outside the door.

"Anything?" Delsin asked.

Ozpin shook his head.

"It seems Mr. Torchwick is well versed in saying nothing of value. As are all of his White Fang compatriots," Ozpin explained, "Though you did good work in capturing him, I'm afraid further attempts to garner information from him may be an exercise in futility."

"Man, even you can't break him?" Eugene asked.

"Mr. Sims, I've used almost every trick I know to get information out of him and nothing has worked. I'm running out of avenues to pursue."

Delsin and Eugene grimaced.

"But rest assured, I will keep trying," Ozpin told them, "Even if this old dog has to learn a few new tricks."

The pair nodded.

"And how fares Mr. Roman?" Ozpin asked, his tone very delicate.

Delsin dropped his gaze to the floor.

"He's... he hasn't left our room since we got back from the mission. He spends most of the day curled in a ball, staring out the window. We've tried talking to him, but he hasn't said a word," Delsin explained.

"I see," Ozpin said, "And Ms. Rose? What's her condition?"

Despite the dark tone of the conversation thus far, Eugene couldn't help but grin, making sure Delsin couldn't see. Delsin sighed.

"Let's just say that after a few too many water blasts, everything has gotten back to normal," Delsin said.

Eugene was trying not to laugh. After Ruby had found out she had one of Delsin's Conduit powers, she went a little prank crazy on her friends. And since Delsin's Semblance literally gave his Water power away, he was helpless to stop her. He was very glad when she ran out of juice and his power returned to him

Oz nodded, a small smile on his face. Before they could continue their conversation, Oz received another call on his Scroll. With a quick apology, the Headmaster left to go take care of other business. Delsin and Eugene left soon after.

 **O00000O00000O**

Weiss slapped both her hands down on the table where Ruby was sitting.

"I need you to pick a tablecloth," Weiss said.

Ruby studied both of them.

"Aren't they both the same?"

Weiss sighed in exasperation.

"I don't even know why I asked," she said, storming away.

Blake approached from behind her.

"Don't feel bad. They were exactly the same," the cat Faunus said.

"They are _not_ the same!" Weiss shouted.

Behind them, Yang set one of the big stereo speakers down. Apparently, it was very heavy, because when she did, Ruby, the chair she was sitting in, and the table in front of her all jumped several inches in the air. Ruby didn't seem to notice. She was toiling away at her checklist for what all was needed at the dance.

"You picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked her sister.

Ruby groaned.

"Do I _have_ to wear one?" she whined.

"Yes, yes you do," Yang said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Ruby banged her head against the table.

"Fiiiiiiiine," she whined.

"Weiss, I thought we agreed! No doilies!" Yang said, only just shy of shouting.

"If I don't get doilies, _you_ don't get fog machines," Weiss countered.

"Don't worry, if she takes those away, I'll provide the fog myself," Delsin said as he and Eugene walked in.

Ruby perked up the second she saw him.

"Delsin!" she said, rushing towards him.

She tried to tackle him with a hug, but only managed to make him stumble a bit. Delsin sighed.

"No, Ruby, I will not give you back the power I loaned you," he said.

"Awwwwww," the rose reaper cried.

She lingered for a few seconds, hoping that appearing pathetic might make him change his mind. When it became clear it wasn't working, she let go and sat down in a huff, an expression she currently shared with Weiss.

"So how did you guys get saddled with all of the dance preparations?" Eugene asked.

"We volunteered," Ruby said.

"Really? Why?"

Ruby said nothing, but quickly and nigh imperceptibly nodded her head in Weiss's direction.

"Ah," Eugene said, getting the message, "I see."

"Yeah," Ruby sighed.

"Well, if you guys need any help, we're here," Eugene told her.

"That is kinda why we came," Delsin added.

"Great!" Ruby exclaimed, "Well, we don't have a lot that needs doing just yet, but-"

"Hey, Ruby! We brought those streamers you asked for!" they heard a voice say from behind them.

A quick look in its direction revealed the source of the voice to be Coco and Velvet, each carrying a cardboard box.

"Little help please?" Velvet said, struggling slightly with her box.

"Here, let me," Delsin said, taking it.

He almost dropped it.

"Jeez, what is in this thing?" Delsin asked since the box weighed more than triple what he thought it would.

"Table decorations," she said.

"Made of lead?"

Velvet giggled. They set the boxes down on the table where Ruby was sitting.

"You know how I said that we didn't have anything for you guys to do?" Ruby asked, "Forget I said that. Eugene, start hanging those streamers. Delsin, table decorations."

"On it," Delsin said.

The two of them got to work.

"Hey, maybe Alex can help you with those streamers," Coco offered.

Eugene smiled sadly.

"No no, I got it," he said, summoning his own wings.

"Ok," Coco said.

"So Coco," Yang interjected, "You finished your dress yet?"

Coco smiled.

"Almost. It'll be done before the dance."

"Great! Maybe then you can help Ruby find something," Yang said, nudging her little sister.

"Yang!" Ruby said, throwing up a hand, "Cut it out!"

"I think I can find a dress or two for Little Red here," Coco said with a grin.

Ruby tried her best to look mad, but it ended up just being a cute little pout.

"What about you Velvet? You are coming, right?" Blake asked.

Velvet nodded enthusiastically.

"Definitely. I wouldn't miss it," she said.

"Glad to hear it," Blake replied.

"Same here," Delsin said.

Since his back was turned, no one could see the funny little smile on Delsin's face. Though, everyone but Velvet assumed it was there anyway. Velvet was positively beaming after she heard him, and she didn't even try to hide it.

"What about you big man?" Coco asked, looking at Eugene.

Eugene nearly dropped the stapler he was holding to attach the streamers.

"Uh, I'm... I'm not good with crowds. I think I'll sit this out."

"Uh-uh, no. You're coming to this dance," Weiss said, her gaze withering.

Eugene gulped.

"But I don't have any dress clothes," he said, desperately trying to find a way out.

"Really? I can fix that," Coco said.

"C'mon, Eugene! It'll be fun! Pleeeeeease?" Ruby pressed.

"Give it up man, you've already lost," Delsin commented.

Eugene sighed, defeated.

"Fine," he said, "I'll come. But I wasn't kidding, I have absolutely no dress clothes."

"Like I said, I can take care of that," Coco said, "When you're done up there come find me. We're going shopping."

Eugene gulped. Something about the way she said it made him feel like he was going to regret getting Coco's help.

"You ladies all excited for dress-up?" A new voice asked.

Blake audibly sighed as Sun and Neptune walked into the room, and if looks could kill both Coco _and_ Weiss would have killed them twice over.

"Yeah, right," Ruby muttered.

"Laugh all you want, I'll be turning heads tomorrow night," Yang said.

"Yeah, one head in particular," Sun said, giggling.

"Dude," Neptune said, elbowing him in the side, "Not cool."

Sun looked around the room to see that the expressions of everyone but Coco and Velvet suddenly darkened. He stifled his giggles in a hurry.

"Speaking of, where is the birdbrain anyway?" Coco asked, "Out shopping?"

Delsin stopped in the middle of placing down one of the table decorations and just stared at it, a sad look on his face.

"Something like that," he said.

While she had no idea what was wrong, Velvet got the feeling this was a subject they should ignore for the time being. She grabbed onto her partner's arm and started dragging her out of the ballroom.

"C'mon Coco! They've got work to do and so do we," Velvet said.

Coco picked up the subtext and quickly followed behind her. When they were gone, Sun spoke up.

"Sorry guys, I shouldn't have said that," he said, apologizing.

"It's ok," Blake said.

All of them sat there in silence for a moment, no one knowing what to say next.

"So what are we going to do?" Weiss asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

"I don't know," Ruby said.

"We've already tried talking to him," Delsin said, gesturing to Eugene, "It got us nowhere."

"We can't exactly force him," Blake said, "And even if we did somehow manage to, it would probably just end up causing more problems."

"You're not wrong," Neptune commented.

Yang stood up. While the rest of them continued discussing the problem, she walked right out of the room without a word. To be perfectly honest, she didn't really know if her idea would work. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure why she was trying at all. She was still plenty angry with him for almost killing Ruby. But, Alex needed help, and whether she wanted to or not, she needed to help him, if only so her sister would stop worrying.

 **O00000O00000O**

Fear.

In the moment when he'd nearly killed someone, that was the only thing Alex could remember feeling.

Fear.

Not fear of failure or loss, nor fear of anything external. Instead, for the first time, Alex was scared of himself. He was afraid of what he could do. Such a fear is paralyzing. It gets deep into the soul of its victim and destroys them. Such a fear can shatter the strongest of hearts, break the strongest of minds, and erase the strongest of wills. It is the kind of fear that drives people insane.

His friends were wrong. It was not guilt that kept him locked in his room, trapped. It was fear. Fear that if he moved again, if he tried to stand again, he would break everything he touched. It was why he simply stared at the sky he used to own, wishing he could go into it again.

He didn't hear the door open. He didn't hear it close either. He didn't hear the person who had entered between those points. He didn't hear them grab a chair and sit next to him. He didn't hear anything at all.

It wasn't until she put a hand on his shoulder that he had any idea anyone was there with him. He turned ever so slightly and caught sight of Yang in his peripheral vision. He was confused by her presence. Why was she there? Didn't she have more reason than most to hate him right now? Those questions kept bouncing around in his head, and he sat there silently asking them over and over for the next hour.

Finally, he broke the silence.

"Why?" he asked.

Yang turned to him.

"Why what?" she asked, her tone neutral.

"Why are you here?" he elaborated.

"Why do you think? Use that big brain you're so proud of."

Alex shook his head.

"I don't know," he said, "I don't know if you're even really here."

Yang answered that question easily. She punched him in the face. As his head collided with his chest, he was thoroughly convinced.

"Can your imagination do that?" she asked, her voice hard.

Alex shook his head, this time to recover from the blow.

"No, I suppose it can't," he said, "but you still haven't answered my question."

Yang stood up.

"Yeah? Well you answer mine first."

Alex looked at her, confused.

"Why are you just sitting here?"

Alex blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me! Why are you just sitting here?!" Yang shouted, her anger rising.

"I don't know," Alex said.

"You don't know?! Figure it out!"

She dragged him to his feet and shoved him at the door.

"I don't know!" he shouted.

"Wrong answer!"

She shoved him again, this time slamming him into the door.

"Because!" he yelled.

Yang moved forward, clenching her fist. Her eyes burned red.

"Because what?!"

"BECAUSE YOU WERE RIGHT!" he screamed.

Alex spread his arms wide. He activated his telekinesis on instinct and propelled Yang back several feet to the other side of the room. Alex sank to his knees and took his face in his hands. A small stream of tears fell down his face.

"You were right. It was my fault. Ruby nearly died because of my mistake. If Delsin hadn't discovered his Semblance right then, she would have died and it would have been my fault," Alex said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

Yang went to his side, her eyes back to their usual purple. She smiled warmly and pulled him into a reassuring hug. Alex kept crying.

"Why?" he said through his tears.

"Hm?" Yang responded, her voice gentle.

"Why don't you hate me?" he asked.

Yang pulled him closer.

"Have you ever read a story called 'The Dark Road?'" Yang asked him.

"No," he replied softly.

"It's a poem I read when I was younger. It was one of my mom's favorites. At least, that's what dad told us," Yang began, "It goes like this."

 **O00000O00000O**

 **A man walked alone in a forest. The road ahead of him was long and winding, but he had nowhere else to be. As the man walked, he noticed the road got darker the further along he went. The man didn't mind. Rather, he preferred it. The cold darkness of the road matched the way he felt inside.**

 **The man continued down the road. As the darkness grew deeper, the man found himself drawn to several painful memories. With each step the memories floated back to him, each one darker than the last, much like the road in front of him.**

 **The day his best friend moved away.**

 **The day he lost his job.**

 **The day his father died.**

 **And so the memories continued. But the man continued. By this point, he had no choice. Even if he wanted to turn around, he could no longer see the road. There was no turning back.**

 **The darkness grew deeper still. The man began to feel suffocated by it. As the memories continued to flow back into his mind, he began to feel as if the forest itself were toying with him, making him relive his worst days.**

 **The day his wife left him.**

 **The day lost his house.**

 **The day his son died.**

 **The pain soon became too great. The man could no longer move forward. He could not bring himself to move. He could barely even bring himself to breathe. So, he stopped. Rather than try and move, to risk even greater pain, he simply sat down on the road and closed his eyes.**

 **The man had no idea how long he sat. In that place, surrounded by darkness, time seemed irrelevant. Hours, days, weeks, all were meaningless in that empty void.**

 **But after a while, he heard something behind him. A whisper, too soft to make out, even in the utter silence surrounding him. He listened closer. As the whisper rose, he felt something familiar about it. He could not tell what it was saying, but as he focused on it, the sound carried with it a single warm sensation.**

 **Hope.**

 **The man felt the thin breath of hope make its way down to his very soul. He opened his eyes. Much to his surprise, the way before him had lightened. The darkness, if only barely, had dispersed.**

 **The man grabbed onto his hope with all he had left. He felt his will return. He stood up and started walking. As before, each step brought with it more painful memories. It became so overwhelming he faltered, but he knew that if he stopped a second time, he may never stand up again. So, he pressed on.**

 **As the whisper grew louder, the man smiled. He recognized it. The combined voices of everyone he cared for at his back, he strode forward. With each step, the light grew stronger and the man could feel the dark memories recede. They weren't gone, they never would be, but they could no longer stop him from moving forward.**

 **And though he knew that that darkness would always be there, the man pressed forward, determined to reach the end of the dark road.**

 **O00000O00000O**

When Yang finished her story, Alex said nothing. Instead he looked at her questioningly.

"The man in the story?" Yang posed, "He's like you. He's someone who fell down into a very dark place. Also like you, he's someone who's surrounded by people who care."

Alex still said nothing.

"You asked why I don't hate you," Yang said softly, "Because, you are on your own Dark Road right now. Everyone has one, even me. This is yours. And like the man, you have a choice. You can stay here in the darkness, or you can take a step forward. It might hurt, but if you keep going it will feel better."

Yang stood up.

"And if you do decide to move forward, I hope I see you tomorrow night," she said, "I'll save you a dance."

She left the room quietly. For a while, Alex simply sat there on his floor. Then he stood up, and walked out of the room. He was far from ok, but he knew she was right. If he wanted to get there, he needed to keep moving forward.

As he closed the door behind him, he smiled.

Yang was one hell of a big sister.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **I know its shorter than the first, but I feel like this is a better fit. Now, as for "The Dark Road," I wrote that myself and I do claim ownership of it. If you have a story where you feel it would benefit, you can ask permission to borrow it. Beyond that, I will see you all again on March 6th with Chapter 21.**


	21. Chapter 21

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 21: The Dance**

 **O00000O00000O**

 **Just a reminder for anyone who doesn't already know, chapter 20 has been changed, please go back and re-read it if you haven't already.**

 **Also, you may want to queue up a YouTube video by the name of "Counting Stars - OneRepublic (violin/cello/bass cover) Simply Three." It's not for any kind of combat music, but I think you'll know when to play it. I will still mark it, look for this symbol:** **.** **It is by no means required, but I just think it'll help with immersion.**

 **Once you see the symbol, press play on the video and jump to about the twenty-second mark. Then just let it play in the background as you read.**

 **Here's the YouTube link: "youtube com/** **watch?v=bdkVzkIGjp0"**

 **O00000O00000O**

"Why do I have to go to this thing again?" Eugene asked.

Delsin had been checking out his image in one of the mirrors. Through the reflection, he and Coco locked eyes and she asked a silent question. He rolled his eyes and motioned in the affirmative.

"We've been over this Eugene, you're going," Coco said.

The two of them heard him groan behind the fitting room door. The two of them smiled. They almost felt like parents. Johnathan Halbridge walked in behind them.

"Is he still complaining?" Mr. Halbridge asked jokingly.

"Of course he is," Delsin commented.

Mr. Halbridge laughed.

At that moment, Eugene walked out of the fitting room. He was wearing a very nice Tuxedo handcrafted by Johnathan Halbridge with materials from Mistral that his husband George had brought back. Eugene had to give the man credit. It looked great, fit perfectly, and he'd managed to make it from scratch in twelve hours.

"How do I look?" Eugene asked nervously.

Coco gave him a quick once over and smiled.

"You look great," she said, "Great job Mr. H."

"Oh, I can't take all the credit, my dear, George helped quite a bit."

"Your husband?" Delsin asked.

"Oh I know my way around a needle pretty well," they heard a voice say.

A second man walked in. This one was much taller, easily well over 6 and a half feet tall. He had dark hair and green eyes and was in excellent physical shape. Eugene and Delsin assumed this was George Halbridge, husband to the proprietor of Starlight Outfitters.

"Honey, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you've got customers asking for you," he said.

Johnathan sighed.

"I'll be right there," he said, walking out of the room.

"If they start getting rowdy, let me know," George called after him.

Johnathan flashed him a thumbs-up as the door closed behind him.

"Things get rowdy here often?" Delsin asked sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised actually," George replied, "But it's nothing a premiere fashion designer and retired Huntsman turned contractor can't handle."

"You were a Huntsman?" Eugene asked.

"You bet he was," Coco said, "He's the one who inspired me to be one."

"That was a long time ago. I still go out and fight every once in a while, but nothing too dangerous. I'm getting too old for it," George explained.

They heard a sound of breaking glass.

"George!" they heard Johnathan call, though his tone sounded more annoyed than afraid.

"That's my cue," He said, quickly making his way out of the room, "The back door is through there. You'll want to make your way out that way."

He shut the door behind him.

"Um, should we be worried?" Delsin asked.

"Nah, George can handle whatever it is," Coco explained, "But he's not wrong, we should head out the back door."

"Got it."

 **O00000O00000O**

The dance was only a couple of hours away by the time the three of them got back. Coco left them when they arrived so she could get ready, so Eugene and Delsin decided to wait out the remaining time in their room.

"Alex? You here?" Delsin asked.

"We're back," Eugene continued.

There was no response. As the two of them entered the room, not only was Alex not there, but the window was open.

"Shit. Where'd he go?" Delsin asked, worried.

"I thought Yang got through to him?" Eugene asked.

Delsin sighed as his eyes fell upon something.

"Hang on," he said, "'Hey guys it's Alex, don't worry, I just left to take care of some things. Be back soon.'"

"Yeah, that doesn't really stop me from worrying," Eugene said.

"Me either," Delsin replied, "but since we have literally no way of tracking him since GPS doesn't exist on Remnant and there is only one cell tower in the entire country, we just have to hope he hasn't run away. Again."

Eugene sighed.

"Guess so."

 **O00000O00000O**

They didn't need to worry. Alex may not have been back to 100% just yet, but he wasn't going anywhere. He had flown up to the very top of Beacon Tower. It was one of his favorite spots. He didn't go up there very often, he didn't often _need_ to. But today was a different story. Today, he was waiting for someone. As he idly gazed at the city before him his mind wandered. Eventually, though, he saw her coming on the horizon.

When he saw her approach, he smiled. It had been a long time since he'd last seen her. He remembered her face, blue eyes and kind features framed by her pure white bangs, though it wasevident that she had aged since he last saw her. He wondered if he could look down on her now. She wasn't a tall woman, and people often joked about it with her, much to her chagrin. But, she was endlessly creative with her revenge and every time someone made a short joke about her, they would soon regret it.

As he saw her flying towards him, floating on her brown and white falcon-like wings, he couldn't help but remember when she had taught him to fly. No matter how many times he fell, and there were plenty, she was always there to help him up.

When she landed in front of him, he immediately hugged her.

"Hi Alex," she said.

"Hi mom," he replied.

Maria Roman pulled back a bit and looked at him. He was a full head taller than her now, and a small grimace passed over her face as she looked up at him. Alex smiled.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here," she said, "There were some tricky winds on my flight over."

"Oh, believe me, I know. The air currents here change on a dime," Alex replied, nodding.

"I know right?"

She laughed.

"So how are you? You haven't called much since you came here," she said chastisingly.

"Well school keeps me busy, and the only way to make sure the call will connect is to go all the way to the Tower," Alex replied defensively.

"Excuses excuses," she said.

She glared at him softly for a moment, but the two of them quickly devolved into laughter.

"You brought it?" Alex asked.

"Of course I did. In fact, I was a little surprised you didn't already have it."

She shrugged her shoulder and shed the medium sized case that she had been carrying. Alex took the case from her, holding it gingerly in his hands.

"So what's her name?" his mom asked.

Alex nearly dropped the case.

"What?" he shot back, his face red.

"A mother always knows," she said with a wink.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said unconvincingly.

"Oh? Well, maybe I should stick around for a few days? Make sure you're doing alright?" she said innocently.

"MOM!"

"No need to shout honey," she said, "I'm only kidding."

Alex's face didn't change but inside he cried in relief.

"Either way, it was good to see you, honey," his mother said, smiling.

She walked to the other end of the tower's peak and jumped into the air. She fell for a moment but the wind caught her and she glided back up to look at her son one more time.

"If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call. It's only a two-hour flight."

"I will," Alex said, "And here!"

He threw her a wind crystal.

"To help with the winds on your way back," he said with a smile.

His mom smiled one more time and flew off.

Alex quickly left. After all, he had a dance to prepare for. Among other things.

 **O00000O00000O**

As the dance got underway, Yang was actually early. She set herself up at the entrance to the party, making sure to greet everyone who walked through the door. She was in the middle of writing something down when she heard the doors open again. As the next guest walked in, Yang jumped in glee.

"Oh, you look beautiful!" she said.

For her part, Ruby was just trying not to fall over.

"Ugh, can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?"

As she started to _try_ and walk forward, she nearly toppled over. Luckily, Eugene appeared andcaught her before she did.

"Thank you," she said quietly while her sister laughed.

"No problem," he said, "Wait, Weiss fights in heels?"

"You never noticed?" Yang asked, still giggling.

Eugene shook his head. He found himself with a brand new respect for the Ice Queen. Delsin walked up behind him.

"Looking good you two," Yang said.

"Thanks, Blondie," Delsin replied, "You too."

Yang smiled.

"Where's Alex?" Ruby asked.

Eugene's expression faltered. It was only for a second before he recomposed himself, but it was long enough for Ruby and Yang to pick up on it.

"He should be here soon," Delsin said confidently.

The sisters nodded, deciding to trust in those words.

Yang stayed behind to do her job at the front, but Delsin, Eugene, and Ruby all went into the party. At the start, none of them really felt like dancing, so they stood off to the side and told stories.

"So there I am, fighting some a-hole Acid Conduit that calls himself 'The Melter'." Delsin started.

"Not this again," Eugene complained.

"I'm getting my butt handed to me, but I manage to get him to use up his reserves. He ducks away to refuel and what happens?"

"What?" Ruby asked, giddy.

"This guy right here," Delsin replied, pointing at Eugene, "tries to fly in like some kind of superhero, and ends up overshooting the landing and crashing into the far wall like a sack of bricks."

Ruby burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Eugene said.

"Hey, it wasn't all bad. The guy I was fighting got so distracted by your epic failure that he didn't notice his shoes had come untied. He ended up falling flat on his face!" Delsin yelled, devolving into laughter.

Both he and Ruby were doubling over in laughter while Eugene watched and stewed over the fact that even in an entirely different universe, he was _still_ the butt of everyone's jokes.

Once again, Ruby nearly fell over. Once again, Eugene managed to catch her.

"You ok?" Delsin asked, trying to get his laughter under control.

"Yeah, sorry," she replied, "Stupid... lady stilts."

Delsin smirked.

"Hey guys," said a voice to their left.

"Oh hey Jaune," Eugene said.

Jaune sat down next to them, looking more defeated than usual. Delsin raised an eyebrow.

"You ok buddy?" Delsin asked.

Jaune sighed.

"I'm fine," he said.

 _"Yeah, right,"_ Delsin thought.

He grabbed Jaune by the shoulder.

"C'mon big guy, we need to talk," Delsin said.

"Wha...?"

"Just come with me," Delsin insisted.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin led Jaune outside to one of the balconies. Once they were both outside, Delsin closed the doors to give them some privacy.

"Ok big guy, what's wrong?" Delsin asked.

"What?"

"It's just us here and you look like someone told you you're dog died. What's wrong?"

Jaune said nothing and walked to the edge of the balcony. Delsin sighed silently.

"Look, I'm just trying to help. But you have to help me help you."

Jaune grimaced. Delsin threw up his hands.

"Fine, you wanna be unhappy and sit here while everyone else has fun? Go for it. I tried."

Delsin turned to walk away.

"I stuck out, okay?" Jaune said.

Delsin turned back around.

"I tried like ten different times asking Weiss to come to the dance with me and I struck out every time," Jaune complained.

"Well there's your problem," Delsin said.

Jaune scowled at him.

"Why? Because she's out of my league?!" he shouted.

"That's not what I meant genius," Delsin replied, keeping his tone level.

"Then what?" Jaune asked.

"Well, first of all, I was witness to a few of your attempts to try and ask her out. The only thing you managed to do was annoy her with grandiose and over the top gestures. Try toning it down a little bit," Delsin said.

"I know that already. Pyrrha told me the same thing. So I went to go ask her out again, planning on 'just being myself,' and what do I find? She's asking out Neptune!"

"Wait, _Pyrrha_ told you that?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah," Jaune said.

Delsin couldn't help it. He laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jaune asked, his scowl returning.

"The irony that of all the people you could get good relationship advice from, it was _Pyrrha,_ " Delsin said.

"Wait, what? Why is that ironic?"

"Because she _likes_ you, you idiot!" Delsin shouted.

Jaune was stunned.

"What?" he repeated.

Delsin just kept laughing. Then he saw the look on Jaune's face.

"Oh. Oh ho ho ho! Wait a minute!" Delsin exclaimed, " _You_ like _her_ too!"

Jaune's face went red. He had forgotten just how observant Delsin was.

"Wait, if you like her, then why in the world would you ask out another girl?"

Jaune scowled.

"Practice," he said quietly.

Delsin's eyes widened. Then he smiled.

"Well, If you remember what she told you, I think you could go ask her to dance."

"Yeah, and get between her and her date? I would like to leave tonight with all of my limbs intact."

Delsin turned to leave again.

"She came alone numb-nuts," he called.

Jaune's eyebrows shot up and he turned around but Delsin was already gone. Jaune smiled.

He knew what he needed to do.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin walked back into the ballroom, smiling softly.

He looked around and saw Ruby and Eugene chatting and laughing over by the punch bowl. As he looked around the room and saw all of his friends smiling and having fun, he simply found a chair an sat down, a smile of pure satisfaction on his face.

"Having fun?"

Delsin turned and saw Coco standing next to him in the dress she had designed. He was surprised she hadn't made it as fancy as her other outfits, but she still looked nice in her simple black dress.

"Yeah, I am," Delsin said.

"Really? Where's your date?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Delsin replied, "Let me guess, dances aren't really Fox's cup of tea?"

"No, not rea- wait. How did you...?"

Delsin smiled.

Coco sighed.

"Velvet," she said.

Delsin's smile widened.

"Never doubt the power of her rabbit ears," Delsin said.

Coco gave him a hearty helping of side-eye, and Delsin's smile widened even further. Then, something headed their way caught her attention.

"Speaking of," she said.

Delsin looked up to see that Velvet was indeed on her way over.

"Hey guys," she said.

"Hey Velvet," Delsin said.

"You're late," Coco said.

"I know, I know, my hair just wasn't cooperating."

"I know the feeling. I feel weird without my beanie and my hair hates it about as much as I do," Delsin said.

Velvet laughed and Delsin couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was in her simple chocolate colored dress. Coco smiled.

"I think I'm gonna go get some punch," she said, leaving.

Neither of her friends heard her or noticed her go. They'd gotten wrapped up in their own conversation already.

 **O00000O00000O**

At the main door, Yang was just about to call it for the night and go join the party. She was putting her stuff away when she heard the door open.

"Hope I'm not too late," she heard a voice say.

Yang looked up to see Alex standing in the doorway wearing a very nice tuxedo. A leather strap was crossing his chest.

"No," Yang said with a smile, "You're right on time."

"Good, I just needed to get some practice in before I started."

"Wait, practice for what?" she asked.

Alex smiled.

"You'll see."

Alex walked past her and made his way to the stage. As he was walking, Yang saw the case on his back.

 _"Is that... an instrument case?"_ she thought.

Alex quickly made his way onto the stage where the band was playing. Luckily they had just finished their latest song and were gearing up for the next one. When they saw Alex, they stopped and the cello and bass players smiled. Alex placed their new sheet-music in front of them and the three of them stood center stage.

"Thanks for doing this guys," Alex said.

"No problem man," the cello player said, "Anything for a fellow musician."

Yang came to the base of the stage and looked up at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Repaying poetry for poetry," he smiled.

 **O00000O00000O**

At the same time, Velvet and Delsin were still wrapped up in conversation.

"So where's your date tonight?" Delsin asked.

"I don't have one. I just wanted to come. You?"

Delsin scratched his head.

"Well, I'm at least six years older than anybody in this room," Delsin explained, "If I'd asked someone out, I'd have felt like I was cradle robbing."

"Wait, six years? I thought you were 24?"

"I am," Delsin said, his tone carrying a touch of confusion.

"Well then you might want to tone it down to four years," she told him.

Delsin shook his head as his confusion slowly grew.

"Why? There aren't any fourth years at this party," he said.

Velvet raised a hand meekly. Delsin shook his head again.

"No," he said, "There is no way you're twenty."

"It's the truth," she said.

"Then how are you only a second-year student?" Delsin asked.

Velvet sighed.

"When I was at Signol one of my teachers was an old man whose grandfather had fought in the Great War on Mistral's side, or so he said. Whatever the reason, he hated Faunus, so he gave me failing marks every year so I couldn't graduate. Thankfully by the time I was 19 the headmaster had found out and fired him."

Delsin had to stop and consider that, but he didn't get a chance.

"Delsin. Look," Velvet said, pointing at the door.

Delsin looked up. His mouth fell open.

"No. Way."

 **O00000O00000O**

Pyrrha didn't know why people were laughing. Then she turned around, and what did she find?

Her partner standing there wearing a pretty white dress.

"Jaune?"

"I told you that if you didn't have a date to this dance, I'd wear a dress. So here it is," he said confidently.

Pyrrha couldn't stop herself. She burst out laughing.

"Jaune! You didn't have to!"

"Hey," he countered, "An Arc never goes back on his word. Now do you wanna stand there and laugh at me, or do you want to dance?"

He held out a hand. Pyrrha took it, still laughing.

"I would love to dance."

 **O00000O00000O**

At that moment, Alex bent down, took his old violin out of its case, and let the music play. ( )

Yang was floored. She had no idea he could play at all, let alone that he was as good as he was. He wasn't even looking at the sheet music.

The music of the three players resounded throughout the ballroom. Alex felt himself slip away as he closed his eyes and let the music flow. It was a feeling he had forgotten. The blissful joy of playing was something many musicians knew, but Alex hadn't played in years. That was why he had been late to the party. He'd needed to practice a bit before trying a piece as complex as the one before him. He had actually been worried that he would screw up and make a fool of himself in front of the entire school, but as soon as he drew back the bow for his violin, his fears fell away.

 **O00000O00000O**

Off to the side, Delsin pulled Velvet to her feet.

"Care to dance?" he asked.

Velvet was absolutely beaming.

"I would love to."

The two of them walked to the floor and Delsin took the lead. Silently, he thanked his parents for making him take dance classes when he was a kid. As the music played on, Delsin realized that he felt happier right then with Velvet in his arms than he had in years.

 **O00000O00000O**

On the interior balcony, Mercury and Emerald were observing the festivities. Emerald activated her comms.

"It appears all the partygoers are occupied," she said.

 _ **"How long do I have?"**_ Cinder asked.

"We should probably be back by midnight, just to be safe," Mercury said.

 _ **"I'll keep my eye on the clock,"**_ Cinder replied.

 **O00000O00000O**

Off to the side, Ruby and Eugene were having fun listening to Alex play.

"Did you know he could play like this?" Ruby asked.

"I didn't know he could play at all," Eugene said.

Eugene let his eyes wander around the room as he watched all the dancers either watch Team JNPR, or more specifically, Jaune in a dress, or dance to the beat Alex was leading. But, when he got to the back of the group, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

"Ruby, look," he said, pointing at the rooftops.

"Hm?"

Ruby looked out the open door. The two of them saw what appeared to be a black-clad woman jumping across rooftops. Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"Well that's not suspicious at all," Eugene said sarcastically.

"C'mon," Ruby said.

"We're going after them?" he said, already standing.

"Yup," she said.

As stealthily as they could, they left the party.

 **O00000O00000O**

Cinder made her way to the front of the Vale CCT tower. Without a great deal of effort, she subdued the guard stationed at the front door. Once she moved him, hiding his unconscious form behind one of the shrubberies in front of the door, she made her way inside.

For as secure a building as this was supposed to be, she was surprised there weren't more guards. When she got to the main elevator, she was greeted by a measly four guards.

"Excuse me," one of the guards said, moving his hand to his holstered weapon, "No one's allowed in this area."

Cinder ignored him and kept walking.

"Stop!" the guard yelled.

As the first guard drew his weapon, Cinder dashed forward and got inside his range to easily disable him. The second guard tried to come at her from behind, but she used his partners gun to shoot him. She didn't know if she'd killed him, and to be honest, she didn't really care.

The two guards in front of the elevator door jumped into action, swords drawn. Cinder spun and summoned two glass swords of her own. When the third guard brought his blade down, she deflected it and got in front of him and swung both of her blades at the remaining guard. Then she used her momentum and did a leg sweep and her target hit the floor like a sack of bricks.

The only remaining guard swung furiously, but Cinder either dodged or blocked all of his blows. Then, when he tried to kick her, she parried and returned the blow with an elbow to the guy's face. He stumbled back and she brought both fists forward and punched his now exposed gut. Then, she flipped over and brought her foot down on his head, knocking him out.

She made her way onto the elevator as it arrived. The two guards onboard didn't know how to react to her presence, especially when they saw the carnage she had left in her wake. But, the second the doors were closed, she disposed of them.

 **O00000O00000O**

Ruby and Eugene followed the masked woman's trail and quickly arrived at the CCT tower. They looked around for any sign of her.

"Eugene, look!" she whispered.

Eugene's head snapped to where Ruby was pointing. When he saw the unconscious guard, he bolted to his side. He placed two fingers on the man's neck and watched his chest. He had a pulse and he was breathing normally. Eugene let out a small breath he'd been holding.

"He's ok, just knocked out," he told Ruby.

"We should hurry," Ruby replied, "We need to check on the guards inside."

Ruby pulled out her Scroll and launched her weapon locker. It crashed a few feet away and she quickly grabbed Crescent Rose as the two of them headed inside.

They quickly saw what the masked woman had done to the other guards. The two closest to them groaned, so Eugene knew they were ok. The one that was by the stairs was definitely alive, but judging from the bruising, he may have had a few internal injuries.

"Eugene!" Ruby called.

Eugene ran to her side. She was standing next to a guard who appeared to have been shot. Eugene checked for a pulse. When he didn't find one, he shook his head.

"Is he... dead?" Ruby asked, her voice shaking.

"Probably," he said, pulling out his Scroll.

He quickly dialed the number for Vale Emergency Services.

"Vale Emergency Services, what is your emergency?"

"My name is Eugene Sims, I'm a student at Beacon Academy. Just moments ago myself and one of my fellow students were tracking a suspicious person. We followed them to the CCT tower and all of the guards are down, one of them either dead or close to it. Send help immediately."

The operator had to stifle a gasp.

"Help is on the way sir, stay where you are."

Eugene hung up.

"What now?" Ruby asked.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm not about to just sit here and wait for help."

Eugene forced open one of the elevator bay doors.

"You wanna help me, take the elevator," Eugene said.

"Where are you going?" Ruby said as Eugene ran outside.

"To box her in!"

Before she could ask what he meant by that, he was gone. Ruby shook off her confusion and went into the elevator.

 **O00000O00000O**

Cinder sat down at the main terminal and got to work. She had only just started when her comms crackled to life.

 _ **"A party guest is leaving,"**_ she heard Emerald say.

Cinder sighed.

"Which one?" she asked.

 _ **"Ironwood!"**_ she whispered.

 _ **"I guess the general's had enough fun for one night,"**_ Mercury said, _ **"Should we intervene?"**_

Cinder smiled as the program finished loading.

"No," she said, "We're done here."

As soon as she stood up, she heard the elevator open. In the glimpse she had before ducking under the desk, she recognized the girl. It was Ruby Rose, one of the new First Year students at the academy.

Ruby walked out of the elevator, holding Crescent Rose in her hands. She wobbled a bit on her heels, but she found her footing quickly. She walked forward slowly, scanning the room for intruders.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called.

Cinder knew she was caught, but she still had her cover. She could make it out of here if she distracted this girl. Slowly, she stood up.

"Excuse me," Ruby said, her tone growing harsher, "You know, it's not a masquerade party. So why don't you take off that-"

Cinder ignored her and flashed a Dust canister. She swept it in front of her and over a dozen small glass projectiles formed between them. She was about to open fire when she heard a knocking sound behind her.

She turned to see that one of the Conduits she had been told to watch out for, Eugene Sims, was floating just outside the window, alongside four of his Wingmen. She grimaced. She was surrounded.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, though his voice was distorted by the glass.

Slowly, she put the canister away. The projectiles in front of her fell to the floor and shattered.

"Take off your mask and get down on the ground or I _will_ open fire," Eugene said.

She began to reach for her mask, scowling the whole way. Just as her fingers touched the glass, her luck turned. The elevator dinged again. Ruby turned to look at who had just come up, and Cinder used that to make her escape. She spun and grabbed the Dust canister from the floor and erected a small, temporary shield. Eugene opened fire as he said he would. The Wingmen's lasers burned right through the windows, but when they hit Cinder's multifaceted shield, they refracted. The resultant light blinded everyone else but her, and she slipped out without another word.

When the light died down, Ruby opened her eyes to find that their target had escaped.

"What's going on here?!" General Ironwood shouted, more out of shock than anger.

 **O00000O00000O**

Back at the party, Alex had just finished his song. A brief yet enthusiastic wave of applause resonated in the ballroom. Alex gave a polite bow and put away his violin, letting the cello and bass players return to their seats. He made his way quietly off the stage as the music picked back up again.

He placed his violin at the end of the stairs leading to the stage. Yang walked up next to him.

"I didn't know you could play," she said.

"I haven't in a while. But, I figured I needed too. It's therapeutic."

"It was beautiful."

"Thank you. Now, I believe I owe you a dance," he said.

Yang smiled.

"You bet you do."

She took him by the arm and led him to the dance floor, smiles on both of their faces.

 **O00000O00000O**

Cinder walked back into the ballroom, ditching her mask and using the Dust embedded in it to change her outfit's appearance. She walked forward and approached her two compatriots as they danced along the floor.

"Mind if I cut in?" she said, tapping Emerald on the shoulder.

"Of course," Emerald said.

Emerald walked away as Cinder took her place.

"And how's _your_ night been?" Mercury asked.

"Much more... exciting than expected," she said.

"Should we be worried?"

"No, but be on your guard."

"So then, what now?"

"Enjoy the rest of the night. After all," she said, "It _is_ a party."

 **CHAPTER END**


	22. Chapter 22

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 22: Field Trip (Part 1)**

 **O00000O00000O**

"They were here," General Ironwood said, "Ozpin they were here!"

Ironwood angrily slammed his fist on Ozpin's desk.

"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James," Glynda shot back.

"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's _right_ in front of us."

Behind him, the elevator dinged.

"Come in," Ozpin called.

Ruby and Eugene stepped out of the elevator.

"Sorry we're late. Someone hit half of the elevator buttons before I could stop her," Eugene said, looking at Ruby.

Ruby punched him in the arm.

"You said you wouldn't say anything!" she said.

" _Ahem,_ " Glynda coughed.

"Thank you both for coming," Ozpin began, "How are you feeling today."

"I'm okay," Eugene replied, "My eyes took a few hours to recover from the light-blast, but I'm ok."

"I'd feel better if my bad-guy-catching record had held up," Ruby said.

The adults just stared at her solemnly.

"Okay, so that's the tone were going for, got it," she said quietly.

Ironwood spoke up next, taking a few steps forwards to emphasize his words.

"I feel I should let you two know that I think that what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntsman or Huntress is all about," he said, "You recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could."

"Thank you, sir," Ruby said, some of her confidence returning.

"Now, the general here has already informed of the events that... transpired last night," Ozpin said, "but now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add."

"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" Glynda asked.

"Not to me," Eugene said, holding his hands up slightly.

"Ruby?" Ozpin asked.

"I... I don't know," Ruby said, "She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her Semblance, though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked."

"Hmm... Apart from the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby and Delsin," Glynda said.

"Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone," Ironwood said.

"I don't suppose you managed to get a good look at her face," Ozpin asked.

Eugene shook his head.

"I know where you're going, and no. I only got a profile view. I'll give you what I got, but it's not much."

"Very well," Ozpin said, nodding.

"Wait. Do you think this girl is related to Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby asked.

"Personally, I think it's statistically unlikely that these are two separate incidents," Eugene said.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Explain," he said.

"Well think about it. She was kinda _there_ the night you guys fought Torchwick. At the very least they know each other. Beyond that, we know that Torchwick's target is the Kingdom itself, and there isn't much reason beyond terrorism to attack the central communication system. Even if we lack evidence, it's still a safe bet," Eugene said.

"Hmm," Ozpin said, mulling over Eugene's commentary.

He and Ironwood exchanged a quick glance and Ironwood nodded.

"I'd be willing to take that bet," Ironwood said, "But we still have no idea where any part of this criminal operation could be."

"Wait," Ruby said, looking at Eugene, "Didn't we get something like that a few days ago?"

Eugene closed his eyes and searched his memories, then smiled when he remembered what Ruby was talking about.

"Yes," he said, "Yes we did."

"What do you mean?" Glynda asked.

"When we went on that covert mission last week to gather information on Torchwick, me, Sun, and Blake went to a White Fang rally."

"I remember," Ozpin said.

"Well, when we were there I remember Torchwick said something about how most of their members had moved to their new hideout in the southeast. It's not much, but it's something, right?" he said.

Ironwood's mouth twitched into a grin.

"Indeed it is," he said.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation," Ozpin said, his face adopting a similar smile, "Why don't you go spend some time with your teams? I'm sure they have been anxiously awaiting your return and you all have a big day ahead of you."

"Thank you," Eugene said.

"Any time," Ruby added.

The two of them nodded and walked back into the elevator. Once the doors were closed, Ironwood turned back to Ozpin.

"Well, there we have it," he said, "We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way."

Glynda growled.

"Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!"

"Glynda!" Ozpin interrupted.

She folded her arms and abandoned her angry tone.

"Well he does," she said.

"She's right. As much as I would like to end this situation once and for all, we can't. If this truly is part of some master plan for which we know no the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."

Ironwood shook his head.

"I have served you faithfully for years...but if you really mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defenses and _wait_ -!" Ironwood shouted.

"It is not!" Ozpin said as he abruptly rose from his chair, his voice rising to match James's, "You're a general James. So tell me, when you prepare for war, which do you send in first, the flag bearers, or the scouts?"

 **O00000O00000O**

Once they left, Ruby and Eugene quickly arrived at the Team RWBY dorm. Both of their teams were waiting for them inside.

"So how'd it go?" Yang asked.

"Not as bad as we thought it would, that's for sure," Eugene said.

The two of them walked their teams through the meeting, short as it was.

"That was a risky move," Weiss said.

"No, I think they handled it well," Blake commented.

"Well it's not like we could do anything with the information," Alex said, "Even if we could find their hideout, which by the way, southeast is a _very_ general description, we don't have the resources to take on a force as large as the White Fang."

"True. Even with your combined powers I doubt it would turn out in your favor," Weiss added, "Even if you added in ours, we would still come up short."

Alex and Delsin nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure everything will be alright," Yang said, "Oh! Ruby, I almost forgot!"

Yang produced a cylinder from behind her back.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us," Yang said, "I thought we could open it together!"

"Oooooh! Something from home!" Ruby exclaimed.

The Rose Reaper sped over to her sister's side and nearly grabbed the cylindrical package out of her hand, but Yang switched hands before she could reach it. Then, the lid popped off the package and a second cylindrical object, a black and somehow hairy one, fell onto the floor.

"What the hell is that?" Delsin asked.

No one answered his question. They were too stunned by what happened next. In some nigh-miraculous fashion, that black and hairy cylinder, turned itself into a dog. They didn't snap out of their stupor until it barked at them.

"Arf!"

Ruby jumped a few feet in the air.

"Zwei!" she yelled happily.

"Arf!"

"He sent a dog?" Blake asked.

"In the mail?" Weiss added.

"Oh he does this all the time," Yang said.

Blake, who had retreated to Ruby's bunk, looked back at Yang questioningly.

"Your father of your dog?" she asked.

Weiss looked at the Zwei in disgust.

"Are you telling me that this mangy... drooling...mutt is going to wiv wif us foweva?" she asked, devolving into baby-talk, "Oh, yes he is, yes he is! Oh, isn't he adorable!"

"Uh, what just happened?" Delsin asked.

Blake peered over the edge of her hiding spot.

"Please keep it away from my belongings," she said.

Just then, the intercom buzzed, and the voice of Glynda Goodwitch rang out.

 _ **"Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?"**_

"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for the week," Weiss said.

Ruby set Zwei down and he walked over to Blake, the cat Faunus still hiding on the top bunk, and barked.

"Look, there's a letter!" Yang said, "' **Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang.'** "

Once again, Yang overturned the package. After a second, several dozen cans of dog food fell out of the tiny cylindrical container and piled up in front of her, covering Zwei.

"What is he supposed to do with that exactly?" Alex asked.

As soon as he asked the question, a can opener fell out and bonked Zwei on the head.

"Well, that settles it! Come on people, Zwei will be here when we get back."

They stared walking out of the room, Blake doing everything she could to stay as faraway from the dog as possible. Just as Yang was about to turn the corner out of the room, Delsin stopped her.

"Yang!" he shouted.

"What is it Delsin?" she asked.

Delsin sighed.

"How exactlydo you expect a _dog_ to use a can opener?" he asked emphatically.

Yang just smiled.

 **O00000O00000O**

"What did I just witness?" Delsin asked as the seven of them walked into the amphitheater, a stunned expression on his face.

"I know right?" Eugene said, the same expression on his face.

"I didn't know a Corgi could be so quick," Delsin said.

"He doesn't even have opposable thumbs!" Eugene added.

"And where in the world did he get the crossbow?!"

"Oh that's nothing," Ruby said as she appeared next to him, wearing a suspiciously large backpack.

"Hm?" Delsin said.

Ruby set her backpack down with other student's luggage.

"You should've seen the time he built a catapult for our pillow fort. That was a fun day."

Delsin felt a chill run down his spine. Luckily Glynda saved him from an awkward subject change.

"Quiet! Quiet please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin," she said into the microphone.

Ozpin stepped forward.

"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself.

"We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day.

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it.

"As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

Once he'd said his piece, Ozpin made his exit. The rest of the students soon followed. Ruby turned to her friends with a huge smile on her face.

"This is great!" she said, "We can shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!"

Alex shrugged.

"Sounds good to me. Either we get good field experience for when we do become Huntsman, or we somehow stumble into a secret hideout and do some good," he said.

"Let's check 'Search and Destroy'" Weiss suggested.

The seven of them walked over to one of the holo-screens that displayed the mission selection roster. After a bit of looking they found the one marked for "Search and Destroy."

"Here we go! Quadrant five needs Grimm cleared out," Ruby said.

"Wait, how are there five quadrants?" Eugene asked.

"What?" Yang said.

"Well if its really a system of _quad_ rants, shouldn't there only be four of them?"

Everyone was silent.

"Huh," Weiss said, "I never actually noticed that."

"Well, Quadrant five is in the southeast," Blake said, "Is that the one were taking?"

"Guess so," Alex said.

Ruby selected the mission. A prompt appeared on screen asking for their team name and Ruby entered it. Much to her disappointment, another prompt followed that one with a message.

 _"Mission unavailable to first year students."_

"Wonderful," Weiss said.

"Any other ideas?" Blake asked.

"Hang on," Delsin said, "Let me try."

Delsin selected it and the team name prompt reappeared. This time when Delsin entered the data for Team CNDT, a different prompt appeared.

 _"Team CNDT is not a four man team. Please enter the name of the Team that is accompanying you."_

Delsin smiled and typed in the letters RWBY.

 _"Mission Accepted."_

"Mm!" Delsin said, feeling a little triumphant.

"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, "You guys are first-years just like us! How come you guys could take that mission?"

"Well," they heard a voice say, "I figured I could bend the rules a little in this case."

The members of Teams CNDT and RWBY turned to see Ozpin standing right behind them.

"Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm in that area was too extreme for first-year students," Ozpin continued, "But, for seven of our more promising students, I do believe we can make an exception."

Ruby smiled wide.

"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor," she said.

Ozpin's face became serious.

"Do not thank me for this," he said, "Your strength and your teamwork have carried you far, but rest assured, outside the Kingdom, even you Conduits should be on your guard. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck."

Ozpin left, leaving his students with a few confused looks on their faces. But Ruby shrugged and lead them out of the amphitheater.

"C'mon Team," she said, "We've got an airship to catch."

 **O00000O00000O**

As the seven of them approached the airship dock, they were still dwelling on Ozpin's words.

"That wasn't exactly uplifting," Yang said.

"Well, he's not wrong," Alex said, "And hard truths are rarely uplifting."

"Cheer up guys!" Ruby said, "It's gonna be tough, but I know we can do it."

They kept walking, their airship awaiting them. Delsin looked around at all of the other students around them preparing for their first mission. He smiled as he watched them, each one smiling and buzzing with excitement. But somewhere back in the deeper parts of his mind, Delsin couldn't shake a strange sense of dread. Like somehow, some part of him knew that the next time he came here, nothing would be as it was.

He quickly shook it off, thinking it was probably just nerves.

"Wait up!" he heard to his left.

All of them turned to face the voice. Delsin smiled as Team CFVY approached.

"Hey guys!" Ruby said.

"You heading out?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Yeah," Delsin said, "Our transport's waiting for us."

"Well we wanted to see you off," Velvet said.

"And wish you good luck," Coco added.

"Thanks," Blake said.

"So when are you guys leaving?" Delsin asked.

"Not till a couple days from now," Fox answered, "Our mission's time sensitive, but it's far enough away that we have to hitch a ride with someone headed that way."

"Really?" Weiss said.

"Yeah, we're helping guard a construction crew that's building a new support tower for the CCT system down south. The next transport out there is in a few days," Yatsuhashi explained.

"So where are you off to?" Coco asked.

"Quadrant 5," Eugene said, "To go kill some Grimm."

Velvet recoiled slightly.

"Wait, you guys are going to Mountain Glenn?" she asked.

"Where?" Delsin asked.

"Mountain Glenn was planned as an expansion of Vale," Blake explained, "But a series of poor choices and bad luck let it fall to ruin and eventually it was overrun by Grimm."

"And that's where we're headed?" Eugene asked, "Fun."

"You guys be careful," Velvet said.

" _Very_ careful," Coco added.

The seven of them nodded. With a final goodbye, Team CFVY left the two teams standing there. They exchanged a series of unsettled looks.

"We can do this," Ruby said reassuringly, "We've never backed down before and we're not going to start now."

"Damn straight," Alex said with a nod.

"And besides, it won't only be us out there," Ruby continued, "We'll be fighting alongside a genuine Huntsman!"

"Yeah!" Yang said.

 **O00000O00000O**

"You have got to be kidding me," Delsin said.

Suffice it to say, when the two teams found out the identity of the Huntsman they were shadowing, they were none too excited about it.

"Why hello ladies and gentlemen," Professor Oobleck said in his usual cheery manner, "Who's ready to fight for their lives?"

"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary students as you have elected to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you we will not be establishing a single base of operations, rather we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defensible locations we may stumble upon," Professor Oobleck replied in a way that sounded like it was all one word, "I packed all of the essentials myself, plotted the air-course, and readied the airship. And-"

He got right in Weiss's face.

"It's _Doctor_ Oobleck. I didn't earn a PhD for fun, thank you very much!"

"Uhhhhh..."

"Come now children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind… schedule!"

With that, he darted off faster than either Ruby or Delsin could have hoped to, crossing the distance between where the two assembled teams stood and where the airship was docked in literally one second.

"This has to be some kind of joke," Alex said, still recovering from the shock.

"Well, alright then," Ruby started, "Looks like we're off to save the world with Dr. Oobleck- Okay yeah, when you say it out loud it sounds worse."

"No kidding," Eugene said.

"Save the world!" a familiar voice said from behind them.

When the seven of them turned, they saw Team JNPR approaching them.

"You're going on world saving missions without us?!" Nora shouted, "I'm hurt! Sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault though. Ren."

Ren turned away and refused to respond.

"Sounds exciting," Jaune commented, "Where ya going?"

"Oh, just outside the Kingdom," Ruby said.

"Hey! So are we!" Nora said.

"Nora and Ren wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village," Pyrrha explained.

"We set out tomorrow," Ren said.

"Then you can party with us tonight," Neptune said as he and Sun appeared form nowhere, "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges."

Jaune looked like he was about to swoon.

"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk," Sun said, "We thought this might be a better way to check out the Kingdom when it's, you know, _normal._ "

"Well-" Ruby started.

"Four minutes students!" Oobleck yelled in the distance.

All of the students cringed. Sympathetic looks crossed the faces of Teams JNPR and SSSN.

"Well," Ruby began again, "Wish us luck."

"We're gonna need it," Delsin said.

 **O00000O00000O**

Their destination wasn't as close as Delsin had thought. That combined with the rapidly changing air currents that circulated the Kingdom, meant that the ride in the airship was going to be a bit longer than first thought. Unfortunately for Delsin and the rest, that meant another twenty minutes of listening to Oobleck ramble.

"I guess I never saw you as much of a fighter," Yang said over the roar of the wind.

"I admit, I fancy myself as more of an… intellectual," Oobleck said, "but I can assure you that as a Huntsman I have had my fair share of tussles."

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.

"Those are truffles," Blake told her.

"Like the sprout?"

"Those are Brussels," Yang said.

Delsin didn't hear much past that. His mind had wandered off almost immediately after they had all climbed on board the airship.

To his right, he caught sight of Alex flying alongside them, enjoying the freedom of flight. To his left, Eugene was playing one of the many games he'd downloaded onto his Scroll. Delsin's eyes went to the horizon, but as he watched the cityscape fade into the distance, he felt that feeling of dread come back. Before he had a chance to ponder on it further, he felt the Airship land.

Delsin climbed out and as he surveyed the ruined remains of a city that surrounded them, Delsin knew:

They had arrived.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Yeah, so all of nothing really happened in this chapter. But, the torturous part of writing an AU fic like this one is that you need to pay attention to detail, and that means covering the boring parts and trying to make them as interesting as possible, which is exactly as hard as it sounds.**

 **But that brings me to another point.**

 **See, I'm no slouch at math. While I am absolutely thrilled to have over 200 followers on this story, I know that along the way, I've lost a few. And yeah, that makes me a little sad. But this next bit isn't for them. They'll probably never end up reading this anyway. This part is for all of you who are still here, and all of you who come after.**

 **Now, I started this project for a number of reasons. One of those was because I read a similar story that was posted on this site named "The Conduit of Remnant" and I thought it could do better, though whether or not I have is actually not up to me. Another was because I have had so many stories rumbling around my head for so long it was only a matter of time before one of them stumbled onto paper (metaphorically at least.)**

 **The third, and arguably most important reason? To learn. I need to learn to be a better writer. I'm certainly not terrible, or so I'd like to think, but I am nowhere near what I think of as good. So let me ask this of the 200 and something of you who read this story:**

 **Hold nothing back.**

 **If you like something, say it. If you hated something, say it. If you would have done something differently, say it. If you think I _should_ have done something differently, please, tell me. I read every review you post, I read every PM you send, and I ask that you please keep sending them.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **pop82.**


	23. Chapter 23

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 23: Field Trip (Part 2)**

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin looked around at the remnants of Mountain Glenn. Half-finished buildings and decrepit storefronts. The streets were empty save for a few tumbleweeds, which Delsin couldn't help but find a little funny. The wind swept through the husk of the city eerily, and both teams surveyed their surroundings from combat ready stances. There was nothing to be found.

"Remember," Oobleck said, "You may still be students but as of this moment your first mission as Huntresses and Huntsmen has begun. From this moment forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"

"Actually Doctor, this isn't our first mission," Ruby said.

"What?" he asked.

"Yeah, we went to Rintah on a mission back in the first semester," Yang added, "Don't you remember?"

Oobleck's expression was unreadable.

"Even so," he said, "What I said is still true."

He looked at the students.

"Ruby!" he shouted.

The young girl jumped and dropped her scythe.

"I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school," he continued.

"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet," Ruby explained, "So I didn't."

Delsin rolled his eyes.

 _"There's no way that excuse will work,"_ Delsin thought.

"She's not wrong," he heard the Doctor whisper.

His jaw dropped.

"Very well Ruby, leave your bag here we can pick it up upon our return," Oobleck said.

"But, I-"

"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that would be so important to bring it w-"

Oobleck didn't get to finish his question. Before he could, the small black and white head of a certain adorable corgi popped out of the bag.

Everyone looked over Ruby to observe the stowaway.

"Zwei?" Delsin asked.

"Arf!"

"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility," Oobleck said, "And you brought...a dog."

"I, uh-"

"GENIUS!" Oobleck cheered.

The professor began to dance around them, spinning like a top. He swept around them like a tornado and swiped Zwei from Ruby's pack, knocking the girl over in the process.

"Canine's are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound!" Oobleck explained, "Making them excellent companions for hunts such as ours!"

Delsin and Alex buried their faces in their hands, wondering why in the hell this man was allowed to teach children.

"I'm a genius," Ruby said proudly.

With that, the faces of her companions became similarly buried.

"So, what are your orders doctor?" Blake asked.

"Ah, yes, straight to the chase, I like it," he said.

He dropped Zwei.

"As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity," Oobleck said, "Now there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm."

"Wait, what?" Eugene asked.

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately 100 yards from us at this very moment," he answered calmly.

"What!?" Yang shouted as both teams turned, weapons and powers ready.

Behind them, they saw a single Beowolf walking slowly past them.

"Stop," the good Doctor said quietly.

"Huh?" Blake said.

"He's right," Delsin said, dropping his hands, "If these Grimm are here, we might be able to track them back to our bad guy's hideout. I mean it makes sense that people who want to destroy a Kingdom would be making a metric ton of negativity."

"Correct," Oobleck said.

"So... What now?" Ruby asked.

"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey."

"How long do we wait?" Yang asked, sounding mildly disappointed.

"It's uncertain. Hours. Days. Weeks. Why lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months and there's the whole pack."

Several more Grimm began pouring out from around the corner.

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"And now they've seen us," Oobleck said.

"What?!" Weiss shouted.

"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Oobleck shouted like he was talking to a hearing-impaired student.

"I take it tracking is no longer an option," Alex said.

"An accurate evaluation, yes," Oobleck replied.

"What's the plan then," Yang asked.

Oobleck stared down the charging horde.

"Show me what you're capable of," he said.

Without hesitation, Team RWBY burst into action. The four of them charged into the fray. Team CNDT was right behind them, but before any of them could act, Doctor Oobleck stopped them.

"Hold a moment gentlemen," he said.

"What? Why?" Eugene asked.

"While I have no doubt that you three could easily defeat these monsters, I would very much like to see the ladies fight so I can accurately evaluate their combat abilities," Oobleck explained.

Alex's brow furrowed.

"Don't worry," Delsin whispered, "If anything happens, we'll charge in, no matter what he says."

"Indeed," Oobleck said, "That's what I was planning on telling you anyway."

Delsin did a double take at him. Doctor Oobleck smiled.

"As a teacher, one of the first things you acquire is an acute sense of hearing."

The three of them gulped.

 **O00000O00000O**

As it turned out, the ladies of Team RWBY didn't need their help. They dispatched the pack with relative ease. The fight was over within three minutes and once it was, they moved on.

On Oobleck's orders, Team CNDT took the high-ground, scouting the area from the skies and rooftops. Whenever they spotted a pack, they let the ground team know and directed them to a different path, making sure to keep an eye on them and the various packs they spotted. Once in a while they missed one, and they had to engage, but beyond a few skirmishes, there were no real problems.

When they reached a low point, Eugene went to scout solo while Delsin and Alex stayed behind to keep watch on the others.

"So what do you think they're talking about down there?" Alex asked.

Delsin shrugged.

"No idea. Don't you have super-hearing?"

"You would think," Alex said, "but no, I don't."

"Why do you care about what they're talking about anyway?" Delsin asked.

Alex shrugged.

"Just trying to pass the time," Alex replied, "I'm getting a bit bored up here."

"You and me both," Delsin said.

The two of them leaned back against the edge of the roof they were sitting on.

"So how are things with you and Yang?" Delsin asked out of the blue.

Alex's eyes snapped to him.

"What?" Alex said.

Delsin smirked.

"C'mon dude, the jig is up. Everybody knows that you are crushing on that girl _hard._ "

Alex turned red and looked away in embarrassment.

"What gave me away?" he said.

"You mean aside from when you straight up admitted it literally twenty seconds after meeting her?" Delsin asked, "Well, the look on your face while you two danced last night at the party pretty much confirmed it."

Alex buried his face in his hands.

"You two talked at all since then?"

Alex sighed as the blush died down.

"No. We haven't."

Delsin smiled.

"Want me to talk to her?" he asked, "Find out how she feels about you?"

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Delsin knew his partner was conflicted. Even with someone as powerful as he was, few men know how to talk to a girl, especially one like Yang. Delsin had made his offer because he knew that Alex was feeling just that.

But, to his surprise, Delsin's partner shook his head.

"No."

"Really?"

Alex nodded.

"That's something I need to do myself," Alex said.

Delsin smiled.

"So what about you and Velvet?" Alex asked.

Delsin sputtered.

"What?" he said.

Alex smirked right back at him.

"You're not the only one who knows how to be observant," Alex said.

Delsin sighed.

"I like Velvet," he said, "A lot."

"I can feel a 'but' coming," Alex said.

"No buts _,_ " Delsin said, "I like her."

"So?"

"Well, I was planning on asking her out when we get back from this mission."

"'Was?'"

Delsin shook his head.

"I don't know," he said, "It's like something in me is saying I may not get the chance. Like, the other shoe is about to drop."

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked seriously.

Delsin shook his head again.

"It's nothing. It's probably just nerves."

"EXCUSE ME GENTLEMEN!" they heard Oobleck shout from down below, "YOU CAN COME DOWN! WERE MAKING CAMP HERE! IT'S GOING TO BE DARK SOON!"

"On our way down doc!" Delsin shouted back.

The two of them jumped off the roof.

 **O00000O00000O**

On the ground, Alex called Eugene and the Video Conduit circled back with nothing special to report.

"Ah, good, everyone's here," Oobleck said, "Ms. Rose, Mr. Rowe, please come with me to secure the perimeter. The rest of you, set up camp in that building."

He threw his bag to Yang and she caught it.

"Come now you two," he said, walking off.

With a quick glance between them, Ruby and Delsin set off after him.

 **O00000O00000O**

Doctor Oobleck led the duo to the edge of the city, where years of neglect had caused the foundations to wear away, yielding to the natural curve of the stone they were built on. As there was now nothing there, they could see far out into what Delsin remembered was the Emerald Forest. Far off into the forest, towering above the trees, were six Grimm so large, he understood why they were called Goliaths.

"Whoa," Ruby said, rapidly approaching the edge, "What _is_ that? It looks awesome!"

"That, my dear girl," he replied, "Is a Grimm."

The two students looked at the creatures in awe. When that wore off, Ruby readied her sniper rifle.

"Let's kill it," she said.

Concrete shards began to swarm around Delsin's hands.

"I'm game if you are," he said.

Oobleck laughed a bit and placed a hand on Ruby's sniper rifle.

"As entertaining as it would be to watch, I'm afraid that your attacks would do little more than agitate a Grimm of that size," he said.

"But what if it attacks us?" Ruby asked.

"Fret not Ruby, those Goliaths are not concerned with us," he replied.

"Why not? Isn't that kind of their thing?" Delsin asked.

Oobleck smiled.

"Delsin, not every Grimm is mindless. Or rather, not every Grimm is _still_ mindless," the good doctor explained, "You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you've fought, that they have undoubtedly lived for hundreds of years. And in that time, between killing humans and attacking our borders, they've done one important thing. They've learned."

Delsin's eyes widened slightly.

"They have learned that when they attack our borders, they are likely to die. And, that what we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and that killing one human, will only bring more."

"Then... why are they so close to the city? What are they doing?" Ruby asked.

"Waiting," Doctor Oobleck said.

The professor turned and walked away, heading back to the campsite.

"Dr. Oobleck?" Ruby asked as she stepped in behind him.

"Hm?"

"I was wondering-"

"Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" the professor replied.

"Actually," Ruby said, "I was wondering, why did _you_ want to become a Huntsman?"

Dr. Oobleck turned to face her.

"Look around and tell me what you see," he said, gesturing to the area around them.

"Lots of old buildings? Empty streets..." Ruby replied, her voice trailing off.

"And you Mr. Rowe? What do you see?"

Delsin looked through the streets again. As he once again gazed at the barren remnants of the city, he saw nothing. But, he felt a sense of profound sadness and despair. It was so dense it was practically tangible.

"I see pain. The pain of a dead city," Delsin said, "And one hell of a parkour area."

Oobleck smiled weakly.

"Both are true, I suppose," he said, "Do you want to know what I see?"

"What?" Ruby asked.

"I see lives that could have been saved," Oobleck told her.

He started walking again.

"As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind," he said, "As a teacher, I am able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student who passes through my classroom.

"I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved. But, I also see an opportunity. An opportunity to study these ruins and _learn_ from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger.

"I am a Huntsman Ruby because there is nothing else in this world that I would rather be."

Delsin looked at the teacher in front of him, one unanimously thought to be a goofball, and felt his opinion of the man change. Dr. Oobleck began to walk away, leaving Ruby, Zwei, and Delsin behind to ponder what he said.

 **O00000O00000O**

Back at the campsite, Yang, Weiss, and Blake were standing or sitting around the newly lit fire.

"I can't believe we didn't find _anything_ ," Yang said.

The missing two walked in the door.

"We will. We just have to keep looking," Eugene said.

"Anything to report?" Weiss asked.

"Just a few lone Grimm. We took care of them," Eugene replied.

Blake sighed.

"Well, I suppose that's something," she said.

The silence hung in the air only for a moment before Weiss broke it.

"Hey," she said, looking at Alex.

"Yeah?" Alex asked.

"Why did you want to become a Huntsman?" she asked.

"Why do you ask?" Alex replied.

"Dr. Oobleck asked us earlier, and it got me curious," she said, "So... why did you?"

Alex sat down and looked up at the starry sky.

"That's a good question, actually," Alex said, "Honestly? I don't know."

The ladies looked at him in confusion.

"You don't know?" Yang asked.

"Is it really so hard to believe?" Alex asked, "Not everyone has a reason. I didn't feel a calling, and while I may have a legacy to uphold, it doesn't really fall to me to do that. Helping people is an admirable reason, but it's not the whole of it, and I suppose I could come up with some long-winded speech about honor or responsibility but that wouldn't really mean anything. Honestly, being a Huntsman just felt right, so that's what I am."

"And you?" Weiss asked Eugene.

"Well, I fell to this planet a few weeks ago with literally nothing more than the clothes on my back, and Professor Ozpin offered me a place to stay and a way to earn money. That's about it," Eugene said.

For whatever reason, the ladies found the simplicity of the two's answers to be oddly comforting, but if they were going to say anything about it, they didn't get the chance.

"Ah, wonderful! A textbook campfire!" Dr. Oobleck said.

"Ah! Fire!" Ruby exclaimed happily, "So... warm..."

"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for the first watch?"

"Yo," Ruby said, raising a hand.

"You sure Rubes?" Delsin asked, "I can take it if you want."

"No, I'll do it. Thanks though."

With that, Delsin nodded and everyone went to bed.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin found it surprisingly easy to sleep on the stone floor. Within a couple minutes of laying down, he was out cold. He slept peacefully until the early morning hours when he heard something.

"Zwei...It's late... go back to bed," he heard Ruby moan. At least, he assumed it was Ruby, he was a bit groggy.

 _"Well, I'm awake now,_ " he thought.

He checked his Scroll. Oobleck was going to wake them at 5:00 and it was already 4:00, so he made himself get up.

 _"Guess I'll go take over watch duty."_

"Zwei? Zwei!" he heard.

He looked up to see the adorable corgi running out of their camp.

"Alright, where's he going?" he asked softly.

Ruby looked at him and pouted apologetically.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, but it's fine," Delsin told her, "Let's go get Mr. Snuffle-butt before he runs off somewhere."

Ruby giggled as the two of them walked out of the campsite. When they reached the door, they peeked around the edge.

"Zwei?" she said, "Zwei where are you? Zwei?"

Delsin sighed and raised a finger. Ruby found him pointing right at Zwei, who was relieving himself behind a leftover steel pillar from one of the buildings.

"Zwei, this is a wasteland. You literally could have done that anywhere!" Ruby said.

"Well at least he didn't do it on your bedroll or something," Delsin offered.

Ruby sighed.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Arf!"

"What was that?" the two of them heard off from the side.

Delsin tensed up immediately.

"Ruby, get your weapon," he said.

"On it."

Ruby walked back into the building to grabbed her weapon. As quietly as he could, Delsin climbed the wall of the campsite to see where the noise came from. On the western side of the building, he saw exactly what they'd come here to find: two White Fang troops were standing not twenty feet from where he was hiding.

Ruby reappeared next to him and was about to say something, but he held up a finger to silence her, then pointed at the target.

"What was what?" one of the troops asked indifferently.

"I thought it heard a Beowolf or... something," the other one replied.

"Hm. Let's just finish our patrol and get back to base," said the first one as he began to walk away.

"This place gives me the creeps," the second one said.

As the two of them walked away, Delsin and Ruby smiled at each other.

They started following them, making sure to stay out of sight. It was surprisingly easy, as apparently the Faunus they were following never heard them. The White Fang troops never even turned around. After a few minutes, they knew they had to be close. Their targets had just rounded a corner and had begun to enter a building. When they saw that their targets had finally stopped somewhere, Ruby pulled out her Scroll.

"Dang it! No signal!" she said.

"Come on, we'll circle back for the others," Delsin told her.

The three of them started walking back. Delsin walked quickly, finding himself surprisingly eager to get back and show what they'd found. Then he heard the ground crack behind him. His blood turned to ice as he turned around.

"Ruby, move!" he shouted, motioning for her to come to him.

Ruby tried, but the ground gave way before she could move. She and Zwei fell into the opening but Ruby managed to grab one of the edges. With her other hand, she grabbed Zwei's collar and threw him back to safety. As the ground continued to split apart, Delsin frantically unfurled his chain and threw it to her. Just as the shard she was clinging to fell away, Ruby grabbed for the chain.

She missed it by a fraction of an inch.

"Ruby!" he screamed, rushing to the edge.

She was gone. The cavern below was too dark to see clearly, especially at night.

"Arf!" Zwei barked, standing next to the edge.

Delsin shook it off quickly and grabbed Zwei.

"We need to get the others. Now."

Delsin bolted back to camp.

 **O00000O00000O**

Yang yawned as her shift on watch ended.

"Hey Eugene," she said, "It's your...Ruby?"

Yang's eyes fell on her sister's empty bedroll.

"Hey," she said nervously, "Where's Ruby?"

"What did you say?" Alex asked.

Doctor Oobleck barreled down the stairs of the upper floor.

"What," he said groggily.

Zwei ran into the room as fast as his four little feet could carry him, right up to Yang.

"Zwei?" she said.

"Guys!" Delsin shouted.

"Delsin!" Blake exclaimed, "What's wrong?"

"Ruby's in trouble!" he said.

"What happened?" Yang asked in alarm.

"Zwei woke us up because he had to pee and when we went out to get him we overheard some voices and found two White Fang members just a little bit away from here. We followed them back to their base and were on our way back here to get you but the ground fell through and she fell into a hole, so she's down somewhere and she needs help!"

"Lead the way," Dr. Oobleck said solemnly.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin led them back to the spot where he'd seen Ruby fall.

"Right there," he said, pointing to the large hole in the ground.

Doctor Oobleck approached the hole and knelt down to inspect it.

"Oh my," he said breathlessly.

He gasped as realization dawned.

"Of course!" he shouted, "Of course, of course, of course!"

"What is it?!" Blake asked.

"How could I be so stupid?!" Oobleck shouted again.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Eugene asked.

"Mountain Glenn!" Oobleck shouted, "Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm, previously home to thousands of people. Working people, commuting to the city, the main city, developed a subway system to the inner city-"

"Wait," Alex said, "Caves. The subway tunnels they made were made from huge naturally formed caves! When the Grimm attacks peaked, the citizens moved underground to get away from them!"

"Precisely!" Doctor Oobleck exclaimed, "The south-east quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"

"Doc, what are you saying?" Yang asked.

"My dear, we aren't just looking for an underground crime network-" Oobleck started.

"We're looking for an _underground_ crime network!" Alex finished, gesturing to the giant hole in the ground.

"They've been working in caves?" Blake asked.

"No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion!" Doctor Oobleck explained, "It worked for a short period of time thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense and unique transportation."

"The people who lived here made big subway system to carry people from Mountain Glenn, back into Central Vale!" Alex continued, "But without Vale's natural border defenses, Mountain Glenn was doomed!"

The group moved closer to the hole.

"As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival," Doctor Oobleck explained.

"They took up shelter _beneath_ the city, and cut themselves off from the surface," Alex continued.

"An underground village," Eugene said in awe.

"Makes sense," Delsin commented, "Most of the buildings would be intact wouldn't they?"

"In a manner of speaking, at least. Until-" Oobleck started.

"A mining accident, supposedly, no one knows for sure. Either way, an explosion opened up a new cave," Alex said, "Grimm poured in. they never stood a chance."

"After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the worlds largest tomb," Doctor Oobleck said.

He pulled out his coffee thermos.

"If Ruby is down there," he continued, changing the thermos to its weapon form, "We must find her."

 **O00000O00000O**

Ruby hit the ground a few seconds after she fell. Normally such a fall would result in serious injury, but for someone with an unlocked Aura, it was like falling off a ten-foot ladder: it hurt but not much else. The young girl shook off her fall quickly and stood up. She looked around the giant cavern she had fallen into and was amazed at what she saw.

The ruins of a subterranean city sprawled in front of her. She noticed that it was in at least slightly better condition than the one above ground, but she didn't get to look around for long. She heard a door click open behind her.

"Freeze!" she heard someone say.

She spun around and found herself face to face with a pair of White Fang troops with guns pointed right at her.

"Where did she come from?" one of them asked.

Ruby tried to back away from them but quickly remembered she was on a rooftop, and given the current state of her Aura, she wouldn't survive the next fall.

"You're a long way from home, little girl," the other one said.

Ruby reached back to get Crescent Rose, but it wasn't there. She remembered that she dropped it a few seconds before she fell. She gasped, and one of the terrorists grabbed her arm.

"Hey! Hands off!" she shouted, breaking his grip.

She tried punching him to get him to back off, but he didn't so much as twitch at her attacks. The Faunus holding her countered with a right hook to the face, making Ruby tumble over onto the rooftop.

"The boss is gonna wanna see this one," the same one said.

Then, he kicked her in the face, and Ruby passed out cold.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **So you may have noticed I cut out all of the conversations between the ladies of Team RWBY about why they wanted to become Huntresses. I did that on purpose because honestly, I felt like since most if not all of the people reading this story have watched RWBY before and thus already know what they said (and if you are reading this and haven't watched the show, well then what are you even** _ **doing**_ **with your life.)**

 **Plus, honestly, if I had taken the time to write it down, it just would have bloated an already exceedingly long chapter with even more dialogue. So, I did away with it.**

 **Ok, now that that's done, I hope you enjoyed yourselves, thank you for the kind words, all of you. Come back in two weeks for the next chapter.**

 **I promise you won't want to miss it.**


	24. Chapter 24

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 24: Breach**

 **O00000O00000O**

Ruby woke to find the two soldiers that captured her were now dragging her along by the arms. She couldn't see where they were taking her, they were dragging her backward, but she could see where they'd been. To her right, she saw several crates being unloaded by the same robots she and the rest of her team had fought on the highway. On the other side, she saw two people in what looked to be a train car setting up a device that she couldn't quite identify in her current state.

She felt her captors stop.

"Hey, Boss!" the one holding her right arm shouted, "Found something you might wanna see!"

She heard an angry snarl come from behind her.

"What is it?!" she heard the voice say, "I only have about a thousand things to do here since Torchwick got arrested!"

"Uh... It's a little girl?"

The noises of shuffling boxes and containers that Ruby had been hearing abruptly stopped. She craned her neck to see behind her. When she did, she caught sight of the one who had been yelling. He was obviously a Faunus, though she could not tell what kind. She couldn't even see his face since he was wearing a full-face mask. But she felt like she recognized him somehow.

"Fan-fucking-tastic," the masked man said in his deep voice.

Immediately Ruby's memory snapped into place.

"I remember you," she said, "You were the guy at the White Fang rally!"

The leader froze, then looked angrily at his subordinates.

"Secure the perimeter!" he shouted, "There's probably going to be more of them!"

Ruby watched as her captors ran off.

"Well, I guess that explains how you found us," the leader said, turning his attention back to Ruby.

He pulled out a wicked looking knife.

"So, how many of you are there?"

Ruby growled at him, then activated her Semblance and blasted off in a burst of rose petals. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough. The leader caught her with his free hand before she even made it all the way behind him. He picked her up and threw her to the ground.

"Did I say we were done?!" he shouted, putting his knife against her throat.

Ruby stared at him defiantly and said nothing, even as the steel of the blade pressed against her.  
Just then, an explosion resounded throughout the area.

"What was that?" he asked aloud.

Before he could say anything else, another explosion, much stronger than the first, shook the area. The leader looked down at his captive and caught her grinning. He took his free hand and grabbed the radio strapped to his belt.

"Incoming hostiles!" he shouted over the radio, "Patrols 1, 2, and 4, engage the enemy, everybody else, fall back to my position! We're starting the train."

 _ **"But sir! We're not finished loading the weapons!"**_ a voice said over the radio.

The leader growled into the receiver.

"Did I ask you a question? Just do it!"

 _ **"Yes, sir!"**_

 __The leader turned back to Ruby, just in time to see her running away towards the sounds of explosions. He mentally kicked himself; when he started yelling at his subordinate, he inadvertently took the knife away from her neck.

"Somebody kill her!" he shouted as he ran into the train.

Several of the other troops opened fire, but Ruby managed to dodge them all. It wasn't hard actually, as most of the people aiming at her evidently couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. When the guns behind her stopped firing, Ruby turned her attention back to the path in front of her. Four White Fang Soldiers stood in her path and readied their weapons. Ruby tried to stop and cover her face as they took aim.

But, as luck would have it, she didn't need to.

"Heeeeellooooooooo!" she heard a voice say from above.

Alex dove in and raised a hand to stop the bullets with his telekinesis.

Delsin jumped in behind them.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to pick on little kids?" he asked.

With that, he took the two central goons and slammed their heads together. The two remaining ones jumped away and turned to fire on Delsin. Delsin managed to fire off a quick Neon blast at one of them, taking him down hard. Alex swept a wave of iron dust at the other one, knocking him out of the air and out like a light.

"Delsin! Alex!" she shouted, pulling both of them into a massive hug.

"Hey little red, you ok?" Delsin asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"We found something of yours," Alex said, holding out her weapon.

"Crescent Rose!" she gasped.

She scooped up her weapon and placed it gingerly back in its holster on her side.

"I'm never leaving you again," she whispered to it. Delsin and Alex pretended not to hear her.

"Ruby!" Yang called.

"Yang!" Ruby said, jumping into her sister's arms.

"Are you alright Ruby?" Doctor Oobleck asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, but listen," she said, "The White Fang's got all sorts of weapons and robots down there."

"What?" Blake asked.

Out of nowhere, Eugene dropped into the middle of them.

"She's right, I saw them loading them up. I managed to destroy a few but their guns were too big," he said. Delsin noticed he had a few open wounds on his arms. His Aura was broken.

"Well that's just wonderful," Alex said.

"What do they have?" Weiss asked.

"Androids, mechs, all loaded up on the train cars," Ruby said.

"Ah, that's ridiculous. These tunnels are sealed, those tracks lead to a dead end," Oobleck said.

Alex's eyes widened in horror.

"The tracks might, but the tunnels don't," Alex explained, "They lead directly under the city, straight past the border defenses!"

As realization dawned, the eyes of his friends widened as well.

"They're planning to attack the city by tunneling an army straight through the ground," Delsin said.

"And they have the firepower to kill hundreds of people, easily," Eugene continued.

"And with the Kingdom as low on Dust as it is," Weiss began, "There's almost nothing they police and military can do to stop it."

A sharp tone rang through the cave.

 _ **"All troops to battle stations!"**_ the voice of the leader said through the train's PA system, _**"We're rolling out!"**_

 __The train started up and began to roll out.

"What do we do?" Yang asked.

Delsin turned and faced the train.

"The only thing we can do," he said.

Ruby stepped up next to him and readied her weapon.

"We're stopping that train."

 **O00000O00000O**

The leader made his way to the front of the train, his mood exceptionally foul. He arrived quickly but his foul mood only got worse when he arrived.

"Sir! The intruders have boarded the train!" one of his subordinates said.

The leader growled.

"Did I or did I not say 'battle stations'?!" he shouted, "Grab a weapon and kill them all!"

"Yes, sir!"

The leader sat down, eyeing his own weapon that was sitting a few feet away. He would go out to fight soon, but he had something he needed to do first.

He pulled out a Scroll and booted up the messaging utility. Normally, he wouldn't be getting a signal this far from a CCT tower, let alone underground, but the black Scroll he held was from Torchwick's employer. They had given it to Torchwick for communication, and luckily he had dropped it in pursuit of those kids before he got arrested.

There was only one contact programmed in. The leader selected it and began typing.

 _ **"Look, I don't know who you are, but this is the guy in charge of your southeastern operation. We've moved up the plan due to some... unexpected company. Whatever it is you were going to do, get ready to do it."**_

 __There was no response. He began to put the Scroll away when he felt it buzz in his hand. Whoever was on the other end of the line sent back a photo, accompanied by a question mark.

He opened the photo. It was a picture of the red-haired little girl his men had captured along with one of the guys who had come to her rescue, the tall dark-haired one.

 _ **"Yeah, that's them,"**_ he replied.

What followed was only one word.

 _ **"Understood."**_

 **O00000O00000O**

Teams RWBY and CNDT boarded the train easily enough. This far back, there was only one guard, and Doctor Oobleck took care of him easily.

"Hurry children!" the doctor said, "We must get to the front and stop this train!"

"Uh, professor?" Weiss asked, standing over an open hatch in the roof of the car they were on.

"Doctor," he corrected her.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing through the opening.

Dr. Oobleck looked down and knelt by the opening. The others approached and looked as well.

"That my dear," he said, "Appears to be a bomb."

Eugene looked down at the bomb and felt something stirring inside it.

"Delsin, you feel that?" he asked.

Delsin closed his eyes. He remembered the feeling.

"Yeah," he said, "Blast shards."

"What?!" Blake shouted.

"They've been used to strengthen bombs before," Eugene said.

"Well great! You can drain the shard and defuse the bomb at the same time!" Ruby said.

"Not that simple Rubes," Delsin said, "I need to be able to _see_ the shard to drain it."

"And even if we tried to crack it open to get at it, there are enough regular explosives in there to blow us up before we finished," Eugene said.

"We got baddies!" Ruby shouted, pointing further down the train.

A not-so-small army of White Fang soldiers approached over the train cars.

"Well, so much for the element of surprise," Eugene said.

"Well I certainly didn't expect them to go-" Oobleck started.

The bomb beneath them started beeping. Oobleck sighed.

"-easy on us."

He stood up.

"They must really not want us on this train," Delsin said.

"Time to go," he said.

As the students began to run and jump to the roof of the next car, Oobleck grabbed Blake by the arm.

"Blake! Detach the caboose! It'll kill us all!" he said.

Blake nodded.

She jumped down between the cars and drew Gambol Shroud, but as she drew her weapon back to strike, the car detached.

"It decoupled itself!" she called.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

The detached car rolled back down the track, and the bomb it held went off. The resulting explosion blew a huge hole in the roof of the tunnel, letting outside sunlight pour in. The force of the blast knocked the eight of them off their feet.

"That's not good," the Doctor said.

"Uh, neither is this!" Ruby said.

They bounded over to Ruby and looked where she was pointing.

"Another bomb?" Alex asked.

"Blast shards in this one too," Delsin said.

Doctor Oobleck ran past them.

"No, no, no!" he said as he jumped to the next car.

He opened the top of the car and looked down to find another bomb.

"They all have bombs!" he shouted back to them.

The bomb in the car beneath the students whirred to life. In a bit of a panic, they ran to the next car, making it over just as the car they were running from disconnected.

"Alex, does this make any sense to you?" Yang asked.

There was no response.

"Alex?"

"Sorry, I'm a little distracted," he said, pointing at the approaching army.

Faunus of every stripe were closing in on them from atop the train cars.

"That's not food either," Delsin said.

"Indeed," Doctor Oobleck agreed.

"Get the humans!" they heard one of the Faunus say.

Team RWBY and Zwei rushed forward to meet the incoming army. Oobleck and Team CNDT stayed at the back.

"You should join them," Oobleck said, his eyes locked on the train car that was rolling away, "They're going to need your help."

Delsin placed a hand on his wrist and switched to his Neon power. Eugene cracked his knuckles and Alex swallowed a Fire Crystal.

"We know," Delsin said.

The three of them walked forward. Unfortunately, the roof of the train car wasn't wide enough for both teams to fight side by side, but that didn't really pose much of a challenge to Team CNDT.

Yang, of course, charged in first. One of the soldiers tried to kick her, but she met the kick with one of her own, knocking him off balance. Then, she made a leg sweep that threw him into the air. Finally, with a cheeky wink, she punched him _through_ the roof hatch of the train car.

Meanwhile, Delsin Neon Dashed through the enemy ranks. His light form was very distracting, and in the case of some Faunus it was almost blinding, or so he saw behind him. Every few seconds though, he would drop out of the dash and open fire into the crowd. Every shot was aimed at the soldier's legs, and with the help of his Laser Focus, he rarely missed.

Blake followed her partner into the fray and let loose with a controlled flurry of quick slices. She easily took down six of them in less than ten seconds. Weiss followed behind her and charged through the enemy forces, her Glyphs leaving a trail of ice behind her. When she reached the end of her charge, she didn't let up. She began to almost dance through the White Fang troops, taking down several more.

Eugene and Alex took to the air, each of them picking off stragglers or people who'd managed to dodge the rest of the team's attacks. With Alex's fireballs and Eugene's swarms of Bloodthirsty Blades, they soon had disposed of all but the last handful of troops.

Ruby got excited from watching, a goofy smile on her face. She held Crescent Rose aloft and readied one of her sniper rounds. When she pulled the trigger, the force of the blast sent her surging forward, and she sliced through the last of the White Fang forces.

At the rear, Oobleck's eyes were still on the decoupled train car. He watched as it exploded further back from them, and his eyes widened in horror at what he saw next.

A huge horde of Grimm cascaded into the tunnel from the opening the blast created. Beowolves, Creeps, Boarbatusks, and more than a few Deathstalkers. There was even a King Taijitu, sitting above the rest. The horde started running at them down the tunnel, a cacophony of roars accompanying them.

"Oooooh dear," Professor Oobleck said.

He turned to face his students.

"He's leading Grimm to the city!" he exclaimed.

"What?!" Weiss gasped.

"It's the cars!" Alex said as realization dawned.

"They detach and explode creating openings for the Grimm!" Oobleck explained

"That's insane!" Blake said.

"And a very effective way to destroy a Kingdom and kill its inhabitants," Eugene said.

"We have to hurry!" Oobleck said, running to them.

Delsin nodded.

"Alex, think you can stop the train?" he asked.

"Are you joking?!" Alex asked in exasperation, "No, I can't stop a train!"

"Can you slow it down?" Doctor Oobleck asked.

Alex shook his head and knelt down, his hands on the roof of the car.

"Maybe?" he said, "Even if I could I'd need help to be effective in any way."

Weiss knelt next to him.

"I'll help you," she said.

Alex nodded. The two of them placed their hands on the roof of the train car and opened the biggest Black Glyph they could manage, just beneath the train car. It was a monumental effort, but it worked. As suspected, the train didn't stop, but they felt it jerk as it abruptly lost roughly twenty percent of its speed.

"Go," Alex grunted.

"We can't hold this for very long," Weiss added, her voice strained.

"Indeed," Oobleck said, pointing further up the train.

A new wave of troops was forming up, this one accompanied by several of the Atlesian Paladins the train was carrying.

"We need to stop this train!" Oobleck said, "Ruby! You and I will stay and protect those two. The rest of you, take the inside route and get to the front!"

"Understood!" Ruby said.

Yang and Blake jumped into the opening in the roof as Oobleck and Ruby readied their weapons. Delsin turned to Ruby.

"Hey, Rubes," he called.

"Hm?" she said.

Delsin grabbed her hand and activated his Semblance.

"You're gonna need help," he said as trails of Neon wrapped around Ruby's arm, "Just be careful with it."

Ruby smiled giddily as her body lit up with Neon energy from the power Delsin had loaned her, but she managed to nod between her excited hops. Delsin smiled and jumped down after Yang and Blake. Eugene started to climb down.

"I'll leave you some backup too. They'll make a good distraction if nothing else," he said.

He snapped his fingers and six of his Wingmen appeared in the air above them. Doctor Oobleck nodded and Eugene slipped below.

Dr. Oobleck and Ruby stood a few steps forward from Alex and Weiss. The good Doctor held out his thermos/mace and the end lit up with flame.

"Well now, Ruby," he said, smiling confidently, "Why don't we have some fun?"

Ruby knelt into a runner's pose, holding Crescent Rose behind her. The Neon energy from the power Delsin had loaned her sparked around her form, giving the impression she was charging up for something.

"Professor," she said, "I couldn't have said it better myself."

Ruby surged forward in a flash of Neon.

"That's DOCTOR!"

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene, Blake, Delsin, and Yang ran through the first train car just in time for Ruby's light trail to pass overhead. As they saw it, Delsin smirked.

 _"Way to go, red,"_ he thought to himself.

The next two were unguarded. Evidently, the terrorists' initial assault had drained most of the troops in this area of the train. The four of them were about to jump to the next car, but Eugene caught sight of something. When he looked closer at it, he facepalmed himself for his stupidity. He grabbed Delsin's arm.

"Delsin," he shouted, pointing at something near the coupling mechanism, "Shoot that thing!"

Delsin looked closer where Eugene was pointing. He saw a small metal box bolted to the undercarriage of the train with several blinking lights on the front and a bunch of wires leading to the coupling mechanism.

"What is it?!" Delsin shouted.

"It's the thing that lets the train conductor remotely disconnect the train cars!" Eugene replied.

"How can you tell?!"

Eugene sighed impatiently.

"It's an electronic box wired into the train car connector! There's not a lot of things it _could_ be!" Eugene shouted, "Will you just blast it already?!"

"Alright, alright, I'm blasting it!"

With his Concrete power active, Delsin fired several rounds of Concrete Shrapnel into the box, tearing the box to shreds.

"What are you waiting for?!" Blake shouted back at them, "We need to keep moving!"

Delsin and Eugene nodded and ran forward. The four of them barreled through the train cars, only stopping long enough for Delsin to destroy the remote decouplers on the back end of each car. Their good luck didn't hold out though, as once they reached the sixth car, they finally started running into trouble.

Four guards were waiting for them in the middle of the car with their weapons ready. Yang, unsurprisingly charged in first, propelling herself forward with her Ember Celica and landed right in front of one of the guards. With a single punch and the accompanying shotgun blast, she dropped him like a sack of bricks.

Delsin came next, running close on Yang's heels. He picked up a Boulder Dash halfway through the car and crashed into one of the other guards. Blake distracted the third with a few shots from Gambol Shroud, then snuck up to him and took him down with a single well-placed strike to the knees.

Eugene decided to abandon all subtlety and just fired a volley of Bloodthirsty Blades at the last remaining guard. The guard, ironically a Fox Faunus, ran away with his tail literally between his legs. The blades quickly caught up to him and when they exploded into his back, he went sailing into the wall at the back of the car.

Once the guards were dealt with, they pressed on. The closer they got to the front of the train, the more guards they found. Each one was dealt with similar speed as the first, each left in similar states of injury. After another five cars filled with guards, they came to two platform cars where the Paladins they saw had been stored.

"We're almost there," Blake said, "I can hear the engine."

"Good," Delsin said.

They were about to start moving again when they heard a very loud BOOM.

"What the f-" Delsin said.

"Look!" Yang interrupted, pointing back down the train.

The four of them looked back onto the battle that was raging behind them.

No one expected what they saw.

Oobleck was whirling like a flaming tornado of death. Swarms of fireballs rained down on his enemies with each of his turns and there were several melted holes in the Paladins he was facing. Delsin couldn't be sure but he could have sworn that on one of Oobleck's turns, he hit an airborne Zwei like a baseball and sent him flying into one of the Paladins. The Paladin then immediately exploded and fell off the train.

Behind him, Ruby was practically dancing around the battlefield as a mass of light. With Delsin's Neon power amplifying her speed, she was knocking out the soldiers in some cases literally before they knew what hit them. No one could touch her.

Delsin held up a finger, pointing at the two of them.

"Y'know," he said, "I think they've got this."

The other three nodded. Without another look, they kept moving. They entered the next car and found it devoid of resistance.

It didn't stay that way.

Out of nowhere, a little girl with soft pink and chocolate brown hair dropped into the car. Everyone immediately recognized her as the girl who protected Torchwick that night at the highway a few days ago.

Yang was about to charge in again, but Eugene held out a hand in front of her.

"She's mine," he said.

"But-"

"I'm better equipped to deal with her and you need to keep going," he said.

He looked her in the eye.

"She won't get past me."

Yang looked into his eyes and saw the determination there. She nodded.

Eugene summoned a Digital Longsword and took a step forward. The girl smiled creepily. Eugene rushed her and his friends charged alongside him. The girl smiled and readied herself to engage the four of them. She swept her umbrella in what would have been a wide arc, but it was intercepted by one of Eugene's Wingmen that now surrounded her. The other three ran straight past her.

Then, Eugene did something strange.

The second the door closed and his friends were gone, Eugene dismissed his Digital Longsword and most of his Wingmen, all but the one now guarding the door. Then, he sat down in the middle of the car.

The girl looked at him quizzically but stayed ready to strike.

"I'm not going to fight you," he said.

The girl cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't like to hit girls," he said with a shrug.

The girl growled at him. He held up his hands.

"I know, I know, it's really chauvinistic of me and all the other things I'm sure you want to say, but I can't help it, both my parents taught me not to. They may have been colossal pieces of shit, but that was one of the few things they taught me that stuck."

Angrily, the girl turned to leave, only to find herself face to face with the glaring faces of three of Eugene's Wingmen.

"Now make no mistake, I'm not going to let you leave, and if you attack me I'll protect myself. But past that, I am not going to attack you," Eugene said, his hand pointing straight at her.

The girl was confused and it showed on her face. Evidently, this is not something she was used to.

Eugene shrugged again.

"I figured we could just talk," he said.

The girl just stared at him. Eugene suddenly noticed she hadn't said anything the entire time he'd been sitting there. An idea formed in his head.

 _"How about this?"_ he said in International Sign Language, _"Does this work?"_

The girl's eyes widened in surprise, and her hands started moving.

 _"How do you know sign language?"_ she asked.

Eugene had to stop for a moment. His ISL lessons were a distant memory and he was reaching pretty far back to find the right hand-signs.

 _"A good friend of mine was deaf, but he could read lips and talk. I learned it from him so we could talk in secret."_

 _"Oh."_

Eugene smiled warmly.

 _"So what's your name?"_ he asked.

The girl hesitated a moment before responding, but eventually, she relented.

 _"Call me Neo."_

 **O00000O00000O**

The White Fang Leader's mood had only gotten sourer as the reports of major losses flooded in. When he heard how close they were over the radio, he snapped. He reached over, grabbed his weapon and went to intercept them himself.

He smiled when he found them, only three cars away from the engine room. Finally, he was going to get to kill something. He dragged his giant chainsaw along the floor of the car as the three intruders ran right towards him. As they closed in, he brought his weapon back for his first strike. The one at the front, one he recognized from the photo his benefactor sent, smiled. With a furious roar, the Faunus brought his saw down, aiming for the young man's head.

It didn't work.

 _"Is that...concrete?"_ he thought.

His weapon made contact, but his target had raised an arm to defend himself and somehow surrounded that arm in concrete. He tried to overpower the young man, but somehow the human's strength was a match for his, even though he was a Bear Faunus.

"You girls go on ahead," he heard the young man say from behind his concrete covered arm.

The young man looked over his arm and smirked at his attacker.

"I got big ugly here," he said.

The White Fang Leader's face contorted in rage, not that anyone could see that behind his mask. He watched as the traitor and the blonde ran right past him as he struggled to free his weapon from the young man's grip. He heard the door open and close behind him and he roared again as he finally managed to rip his weapon free from its concrete confines.

"Hey dude, you really need to chill out," the young man said.

The White Fang Leader growled.

"You know, I've been wanting to kill someone," he said, "You'll do."

He whipped his chainsaw forward to try and cut his opponent in two but the kid just stepped back out of the way.

"Hey! Watch where you swing that thing!" his opponent mocked, "You could've really hurt someone."

"That's the idea," the Faunus growled.

He made several more swipes with his chainsaw but his opponent dodged them over and over again.

"Dude, why are you so mad? Did someone piss in your oatmeal this morning?" the young man asked innocently.

The Faunus roared even louder as he pressed the attack.

"Wait," his opponent said, "I know what it is."

The Faunus tried to calm himself down and approach the battle more controlled.

"It even explains that giant gardening tool you're fighting with!" the young man said, "You're compensating for something!"

The Faunus stopped dead.

"Hey, man, don't feel bad, micropenis is a medical condition, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

The White Fang Leader lost it and started swinging wildly.

Delsin smiled to himself.

 _"This is just too easy,"_ he thought.

 **O00000O00000O**

As the last of the White Fang troops approached, Dr. Oobleck looked past them as far as he could. Faintly, he saw his other students approaching the front car.

"Ms. Rose!" he shouted.

Ruby appeared next to him in a flash of Neon.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Gather your friends," he said, pointing at the very strained Weiss and Alex, "They've bought enough time and you may be needed further ahead."

Ruby looked back to her friends.

"But what about-" she started.

"Don't worry about me. Besides", he said, hefting his thermos, "It's time I taught them a lesson."

Ruby nodded. With a flash, she went over to her friends' sides and grabbed their shoulders.

"Come on," she said, "Dr. Oobleck said we need to move."

Alex and Weiss took a moment to process what she'd said. They'd been working very hard to slow the train and the effort was getting to them, so understandably they were slow to respond. But, they got the message. With a gasp of effort, the two of them dropped the Glyph and fell over as the train began to pick up speed.

"You guys ok?" she asked worriedly.

Alex wheezed.

"We'll be fine," he said, "We just need a second."

Weiss nodded and held up a thumbs up.

After a moment, the two of them managed to get their feet under them and they started walking. They managed to get past the enemies approaching Dr. Oobleck but before they could get too far, Ruby stopped. The Rose Reaper looked down to see Zwei standing next to her looking back at Dr. Oobleck.

"Go," Ruby said.

Zwei looked at her and did a doggy grin. Then he ran off to help the good Doctor.

"Are you sure he's gonna be ok?" Alex asked.

Ruby smiled as she turned to run to the front of the train.

"He'll be fine. C'mon, let's go."

 **O00000O00000O**

Blake and Yang managed to get to the front car of the train. The door was to it the interior was heavily reinforced, but with a bit of work, Yang managed to break it down. Blake rushed in and pointed Gambol Shroud's gun right at the conductor's head. The conductor, with one hand still on the throttle, buried his other hand in his pocket.

"Don't move!" Blake shouted, her finger on the trigger.

The conductor froze.

"Turn around slowly," Blake said, "I don't want to shoot a fellow Faunus if I don't have to."

The conductor turned around slowly, keeping a grip on the throttle.

"Show me your hands," she said.

The conductor, an elephant Faunus, smiled evilly. He took his hand out of his pocket to reveal his hand was on a wireless dead-man's switch.

"Oh, shit," Yang said.

"There's a bomb on the bottom of this car. If I drop this thing or the train slows down too much, this whole thing goes up in smoke. And before you try anything clever, let me remind you, we may not be at the end of the line, but this train is well into the city by now. If I blow this here, I still take out a big chunk of the city and Grimm will overrun what's left. Not to mention, all three of us will be dead," he said.

Blake and Yang felt their blood run ice cold.

"You have three seconds to run away before I blow us all to smithereens."

The two of them didn't even hesitate. They ran out of the room and as far away as they could get. They managed to get back three cars before Ruby, Weiss, and Alex caught up with them.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"There's a bomb on the front car!" Yang said.

"If we try and stop it, it'll blow!" Blake said.

Alex's eyes widened in horror.

"That's not really gonna be a problem," he said, pointing forward.

"What?" Ruby asked, following his finger.

At first, they couldn't see anything, but soon the end of the tunnel came into view.

"Oh, crap," Yang said.

Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster and set it to ice.

"Alex, a little help?" she asked.

Alex nodded, pulling out an Ice Crystal.

Weiss jabbed Myrtenaster into the roof of the car and covered the five of them in an icy shell.

 **O00000O00000O**

Back in the front of the train, the conductor watched as the two intruders ran away. When he turned back to the train controls, he smiled when he saw the end of the line approaching. He ran out of the room and got back by two cars before he completed his last order.

"Let's teach those damn humans a lesson," he said aloud.

With that, he dropped the dead-man's switch.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin stood over the unconscious form of the White Fang leader. He'd just managed to knock him out a few seconds ago.

"You know, for the record, I support you guy's goals," he said to the unconscious body beneath him, "But your methods are just plain wrong."

Then he felt it coming.

"Fuck!" he shouted, "Where's the bomb?!"

He spread out his hands and surrounded the both of them in a concrete shell.

 **O00000O00000O**

Neo didn't know why, but she felt oddly comfortable around this stranger named Eugene. The two of them had been sitting and having a pleasant conversation in sign language for a while now, and she hadn't felt the urge to kill him yet.

He'd been in the middle of a word when he suddenly stopped. She looked at him in confusion as his eyes widened in horror. Granted she wasn't a stranger to those looks but so far she hadn't done anything to cause it.

Eugene snapped out his blue wings and surged at Neo, screaming "Get down!"

He tackled her to the ground and held her close. Neo found herself blushing, though she had no idea why.

Eugene closed his eyes. His powers weren't great for defense, most of his constructs were way too brittle to stand up to the kind of blast he felt coming, but he tried either way. Pouring as much power as he could into it he covered them both in a solid blue shell.

 **O00000O00000O**

Back at Beacon, Team JNPR was on their way to the airship docks to go to their assignment.

"I'm sure they're fine," Pyrrha said.

"Y'think?" Jaune asked.

"Probably a just nerves," Nora said as she happily along

"Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field," Ren said reassuringly, "We should be focusing on our own mission."

"Not to mention they have Team CNDT with them," Nora added, "Those guys could handle anything."

"I just got this... feeling. I... I don't know," Jaune said.

"Jaune-" Pyrrha started.

She was interrupted by the sound of the emergency sirens going off in the distance. The four of them looked over to Vale and saw a huge plume of smoke rising from the city. Jaune snapped to attention.

"We're changing our mission," he said as he ran to the airship, "Everyone onboard."

His teammates quickly followed him.

"Ren," he said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "We'll make it to that village another time."

Ren nodded. Jaune looked to the pilot.

"Take us into the city!"

 **O00000O00000O**

None of them remembered the impact, but they remembered what it looked like when they woke up.

Alex and the entirety of Team RWBY found themselves on their backs a few feet away from a crater in the middle of downtown Vale. Emergency sirens were blaring in the distance and they saw civilians lining the plaza. Their ears were ringing and their heads were spinning.

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to deal with that.

Grimm poured into the city from the crater behind them. Beowolves, a King Taijitu, and whole flocks of Nevermore along with just about every other kind of Grimm there was emerged and started chasing the civilians.

Alex forced himself to shake off the disorientation and stand. Just as he got to his feet, he felt pain rip through his chest. He checked it over. Apparently, the force of the blast had been enough to break a couple of his ribs. The others would likely be fine, but in order for Bird Faunus to fly, they had to have hollow bones just as regular birds did. For once in his life, Alex actually cursed the fact that he could fly.

Either way, he forced the pain aside and forced himself up. Just in time too, as a Beowolf was bearing down on him. It took all of his willpower, but he managed a telekinetic blast strong enough to break its neck. He did a quick once-over of his injuries.

In addition to two or three of his ribs, he could feel that the bones in his left wing were broken.

"Well, there goes our aerial advantage," he said, grateful to feel his Aura stitching itself back together.

He reached into his pocket to find a crystal, preferably a Water one so he would heal faster, but he found his pockets empty.

"Well that's just great," he whispered.

He limped into battle, magnetically grabbing the remnants of a broken lamppost to use as a weapon. He saw Yang walk up alongside him.

"How ya doin' Blondie?" he asked.

"I'm ok," she said, "You?"

"I've been better," he replied, rubbing his left shoulder.

"Well, I hope you can still fight," he heard Blake say on his other side.

"Yeah, I can," he said.

All of Team RWBY was standing around him now, each of them holding combat stances in the middle of the plaza.

"Weiss, toss me a Water Crystal?" Alex shouted.

Weiss nodded and removed the Water Crystal loaded in Myrtenaster. She threw it to him and he swallowed it immediately. His hair turned blue as he felt the power flow through him.

"Ok, guys," Ruby said, "Let's do this."

 **O00000O00000O**

Cinder watched the scene unfold from a nearby rooftop. She didn't think much of the kids she watched, in fact, they were all but insignificant to her, but she had to admit they had tenacity.

She ignored them and got back to work. She placed the case Salem had sent her down in front of her. She wasn't quite sure what the round object was, but Salem had told her to trust Bertrand's device. She began the setup procedure for it. Normally she would have had Emerald or Mercury handle this kind of manual labor, but she made them stay back at Beacon.

After all, she needed them alive.

 **O00000O00000O**

Just outside the battlefield, Johnathan and George Halbridge watched the scene unfold from their apartment which was on the floor above their store.

"My god," Johnathan said.

"Johnathan, I love you but there is no god up there that can help those people right now," George said.

Johnathan turned to see his husband standing in his old combat gear, which was basically his normal attire of dark green t-shirt and light brown pants plus a pair of leather gloves for his hands. At first glance, they looked like everyday clothes, but in truth, they had Earth Dust woven into the fabric which made them and the person wearing them highly damage resistant.

"Wait, you're going out there?" Johnathan asked.

George grabbed his old sword, a huge beast of a weapon that was just over five feet long and placed it on his back. He turned around and kissed his husband on the forehead.

"I have to. Those kids need help," he said.

Johnathan nodded.

"Go get 'em."

George smiled as he ran down the stairs.

"Get to the panic room!" he shouted as he reached the bottom.

Johnathan shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Normally I don't like this kind of language," he said to himself, "but no _shit_."

 **O00000O00000O**

Back on the ground, the battle raged on.

With the speed from the Neon power she was borrowing in conjunction with her own, Ruby had managed to corral most of the Grimm into the plaza. Unfortunately, that left Alex and the rest of Team RWBY to deal with everything else, and with more Grimm still pouring in, there was a lot to deal with.

Blake stabbed a Beowolf in the throat

"Anyone know where Delsin or Eugene are?" Blake asked as she pulled her blade out, "We could use their help."

"Haven't seen 'em," Alex said as he impaled three more Grimm on his lamppost.

"They must still be underground," Yang said.

"Along with the professor," Weiss added.

"I take it you kids could use a hand?" they heard a voice say.

George Halbridge made a swept his sword wide and cut through four Beowolves in one strike. Over his shoulder, Yang saw a trail of decomposing Grimm corpses.

"If you wouldn't mind," Alex said.

George smiled.

"Not at all."

When George stepped into the fray, the battle turned immensely in favor of the students. He cut down so many Grimm it was almost funny. And things only got better when Nora came riding in on a flying hammer.

The energetic redhead damn near flew over the rest of them and bitch-slapped the black head of the King Taijitu with her Magnhild. She did a flip and landed on the far end of the plaza where the rest of Team JNPR soon joined her.

 _"Ok,"_ Alex thought happily, _"Now we're getting somewhere!"_

Alex kept fighting. He picked up a piece of rebar and started using it as a makeshift sword as he joined Ruby in running across the battlefield. Briefly, he saw Sun and Neptune on the outskirts of the battle. He ran towards them.

"I thought you said you wanted to see Vale when stuff _wasn't_ being blown up," he asked the duo.

"Well, you make do with what you got," Sun said with a shrug.

"Ok, well could you make do with a bit of help? Because we're a little outnumbered here," Alex said.

Neptune nodded.

"We're on it."

The two of them pulled out their weapons and started in on the Grimm. As they started, more and more reinforcements rolled in. Team CFVY. Professors Goodwitch, Port, and Oobleck. Zwei even proved useful. When the Atlesian fleet and accompanying mechs rolled in, Alex smiled.

"Ok, now this is just _too_ easy."

He would not see the irony of that statement until it was too late.

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene woke up when Neo slapped him in the face.

"What the-" he sputtered.

He sat up abruptly and saw Neo sitting next to him.

 _"About time,"_ she signed.

"What happened," he asked, a bit disoriented.

Neo simply gestured to the area around them

Eugene looked around. The train car they had been in was wrecked and resting at a very odd angle. Rubble from the collapsed train tunnel was strewn about all over the car.

"Oh, right," he said as it all came back to him, "Bomb."

Neo nodded.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Neo blushed ever so slightly and looked away.

 _"I'm fine."_

Eugene suddenly remembered how he'd managed to protect her.

"Oh, sorry about that," he said, a little embarrassed, "First thing I could think of on short notice."

 _"It's ok."_ she signed.

"Good," he sighed.

He stood up.

"I need to check on my friends," he said, "Can you get out on your own?"

Neo nodded.

Eugene smiled and turned to leave but Neo tapped him on the shoulder before he could.

"Hm? What is it?" he asked.

Neo looked at him quizzically.

 _"Why did you save me?"_ she asked.

Eugene smiled.

 _"Because it was the right thing to do. And because I wanted to."_ he signed.

Neo didn't know how to respond to that. Eugene turned to leave again, and this time Neo didn't stop him.

Eugene left the train car and moved on to the next. The next car was much worse than the one he had found himself in. Most of its front end was gone, and shrapnel was everywhere, even embedded in the side of the train car. What Eugene noticed first, however, was the large concrete sphere taking up the center of the room.

The fractal pattern of its structure told him it was one of Delsin's constructs. He walked around it to try and find a hole and found one in the back. Evidently, Delsin hadn't had time to build a layer thick enough to absorb the blast, as shrapnel had obliterated the part of the sphere that faced the explosion. Eugene gasped when he saw Delsin still standing in the opening, his back covered in puncture wounds.

"Delsin!" he shouted, shaking his friend's shoulder, "Delsin, are you ok?!"

Delsin roused slowly, coughing as he woke up.

"Damn," he said, "That was a big boom."

Eugene sighed in relief. Delsin reached behind him and cut himself on one of the pieces of shrapnel protruding from his back.

"OW!" he said, holding his finger, "Eugene, can you help me get these out?" he asked.

"Sure," Eugene said.

They managed to get the pieces out over the next minute, and Delsin mourned the loss of yet another faithful jacket.

"Dammit," he whined, "I just got this one!"

Eugene laughed.

Their jovial mood was cut short in a split second. A feeling, much like the one that had warned them of the bomb in the train, fell over them. It was exponentially stronger than the one they had felt only a few minutes ago, and it was growing with each passing second.

"Oh dear God, no," Eugene said, a look of abject terror on his face.

"Is that what I think it is?" Delsin said, his face the same.

Eugene nodded.

"We need to get up there! Now!" Eugene shouted.

Delsin nodded and picked up a Boulder Dash. He barreled through the doors and bad terrain, Eugene flying behind them. They moved faster than they ever had, the adrenaline of pure terror pumping through them.

They had to warn them. That was the only coherent thought the two of them could form. An entirely different kind of Blast was coming, one they needed to escape at all costs.

The two of them reached the top in seconds. Delsin placed a hand on something and the two of them screamed.

"EVERYBODY RUN!"

But, the warning came too late. On the rooftop, Cinder smiled and pressed a button, and the light of a Ray-Sphere Blast swept over Vale.

 **CHAPTER END**


	25. Chapter 25

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 25: Remnants**

 **O00000O00000**

As he sat up, rubbing the dirt from his eyes, Delsin knew he would never forget the next thing he saw. All around him, Vale was in ruins. Broken buildings were everywhere he looked. In the distance, he could see that much of the city was spared from the destruction, but as he looked at the burning ground around him, Delsin found that to be a rather cold comfort.

In a cruel twist of fate, Delsin actually felt stronger after he woke up. He'd read reports by the late Dr. Sebastian Wolfe hypothesizing that exposing an active Conduit to a Ray-Sphere Blast would increase that Conduit's abilities. Delsin held out a hand and made a small ball of Concrete as he wondered how many people died to make him stronger.

His friends.

His teachers.

Alex.

Velvet.

All of them, and so many other people.

Just... gone.

"Hey!" he heard a voice say, "Is anybody there?!"

Delsin snapped to attention and his head jerked about as he tried to find the source of the voice.

"I hear you!" he shouted, "Keep talking! Help me find you!"

"Over here!" the voice shouted.

Delsin followed the voice to an injured Fox, pinned beneath a section of destroyed wall.

"Fox!" Delsin said.

"Delsin? Is that you?" Fox asked.

"Hang on! I'll get you out."

Delsin moved his hand to his wrist and switched to his Smoke power. Or rather, he _tried_ to switch to his Smoke power. When his hand went to his wrist, he found it empty; his Manual Power Switcher was gone.

"Dammit," Delsin muttered, "Must've fallen off in the Blast."

"There a problem?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, but I can work with it," Delsin replied.

He grabbed the bottom of the wall and lifted as hard as he could. As he felt the weight on his lower body fall away, Fox tried to stand up but something happened. The second Fox tried to stand, Delsin watched as his friend suddenly broke into a Smoke Dash.

"Whoa!" Fox shouted, "What was that?!"

Delsin face-palmed himself. A memory flashed through his mind of the second he burst out of the underground tunnel. The first thing he did was grab something to steady himself. As it turned out, that something was apparently Fox.

"Hang on," Delsin said, "I must've accidentally given you my Smoke power."

"You should be grateful," he heard another voice say, "It's the only reason you aren't dead right now."

Delsin turned. Several feet away, Eugene was lying face-up on the ground with a piece of rebar sticking out of his right shoulder.

"A little help would be nice," the Video Conduit said.

Delsin hopped over to him and helped Eugene pull himself off of the rebar. The wound bled for a bit, but Eugene's Conduit healing managed to stop the bleeding.

"What do you mean 'The only reason I'm not dead right now'?" Fox asked nervously.

Delsin's face fell. Eugene asked a silent question and Delsin nodded. Eugene stood up slowly but stumbled and instead sat down on a bit of rubble.

"Well?!" Fox asked, his tone growing more forceful, "What happened?!"

Eugene sighed.

"A Ray-Sphere Blast," Eugene said.

"What's that?" Fox asked.

"On our world, the Ray-Sphere was developed as a tool to activate people with an inactive Conduit gene and turn them into Conduits, people like me and Delsin, though to be clear, neither of us have ever experienced one until now," Eugene explained, "But there was a big problem in the design."

"What problem?" Fox asked though the answer was already forming in his head.

Eugene swallowed. This was going to be hard for all of them.

"In order to activate Conduits, a tremendous amount of Neuroelectricity is required," Eugene started, his voice starting to shake, "So, the Ray-Sphere makes a special energy field that rips that energy out of the only source it exists in and crams it into people with the Conduit gene."

"Wait," Fox said, "What source?"

He already knew the answer to the question, but he was praying he was wrong. Eugene swallowed again.

"People."

Fox was reeling. If words carried physical force, Eugene just hit Fox in the gut with a sledgehammer.

"Oh my god," Fox said, "Coco. Yatsu. Velvet."

Fox stumbled backward and fell over onto his back. The metaphorical knife that had been in Delsin's gut since the Blast twisted when he heard Velvet's name. But, he steadied himself once more.

"We need to look for survivors," he said.

"What's the point?" Fox asked, sounding defeated, "Everyone is dead."

Delsin shook his head.

"No, Ruby had my Neon power when the Blast hit and as far as I can tell, she still does, so if that's what kept you alive then she should be fine too. Plus, one other person survived. I know it."

"Who?" Eugene asked.

Delsin's face contorted in rage.

"The person who set it off," he growled.

Realization dawned on the both of them. Eugene stood up, his wound healed.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" he asked, "Let's get moving."

Fox stood up as well and nodded fiercely. Delsin turned back to face the horrible sight one more time. He took a deep breath.

"Ok. Let's go."

 **O00000O00000O**

From his office atop Beacon Tower, Ozpin watched alongside General Ironwood as the horrible wave of light enveloped the city. When the Blast subsided and they saw what it had done to the Kingdom, the two of them were in shock.

"Dear God," Ironwood said, "What was that?!"

"I don't know," Ozpin answered quietly.

After they stared at the crater for a few moments, a loud tone started coming from Ozpin's desk. The Headmaster managed to pull himself away and check it. Much to his chagrin, the Council was calling. He sighed as his hand hovered over the button to accept the call. He shook his head with a scowl and ended the call.

"James!" he called.

"What?"

"Have an Airship meet us on the roof," he said, grabbing his cane, "We're going down there."

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin and Eugene moved through the ruins without much trouble. Fox took a bit of coaching, but he soon found himself able to keep pace. Eugene said a silent prayer as he flew, thanking whoever was in charge of their reality that there were no corpses left behind this close to a Blast detonation. He had smelled death more than enough at Curdun Cay, and he was in no hurry to do it again.

Of course, it was at that moment he realized he spoke too soon.

Just below him, he saw a group of three bodies strewn across what was left of the road.

"Delsin!" he shouted, pointing down at them.

Delsin followed his finger and he and Fox made their way towards it. When Delsin saw who it was, he sighed sadly.

"Damn it," he whispered.

"What is it?" Fox asked.

Delsin looked at the bodies of Professors Bartholomew Oobleck, Peter Port, and Glynda Goodwitch.

"The opposite of survivors," he said.

Fox turned and puked onto the street. Delsin didn't blame him; it was a lot to take in. Eugene dropped in beside him, a questioning look on his face look on his face.

"What's on your mind Eugene?" Delsin asked.

"Well, it's just... we're still really close to the epicenter of the Blast," Eugene said.

"So?"

" _So_ ," Eugene continued, "These bodies shouldn't _be_ here. In fact, there shouldn't be anything but dust left of them."

Delsin sighed.

"Does it really matter? They're still de-"

"Nnnnnnn," said a voice in front of them.

The two of them stopped dead and turned to see where it was coming from. Ever so slowly, Glynda Goodwitch stood up, not a scratch on her.

"Mr. Rowe?" she said blearily, "What happened here?"

"How...?" Eugene breathed, "You should be dead!"

"What?" Glynda said as the fog in her head started to clear.

"Hang on," Delsin said, "There's one other possibility."

Eugene's eyes widened as Delsin grabbed Glynda's hand. Delsin smiled as a familiar sensation overtook his senses.

 **O00000O00000O**

 **A young girl, no more than 15, was standing in front of a pair of graveyard headstones, crying. As each of the girl's tears fell, time advanced. The girl grew, and what started as two headstones grew, expanding exponentially. By the time he saw the girl as she was in the president, a full grown Glynda Goodwitch, the graveyard was huge.**

 **Delsin would never know if what he heard next was something from the memory or something he somehow said.**

 **"I'm sorry."**

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin stumbled backward, as did Glynda. Normally such an exchange left both parties unconscious, so Delsin counted himself lucky.

"What was that?!" Glynda said, "Were you in my head?"

Delsin nodded.

"Sorry, that's just how my powers work," he said.

He raised a hand to look at it. Small ice crystals began to form in his palm and on his fingertips.

Glynda raised an eyebrow.

"I don't remember ice being on your list of abilities," she said.

Delsin smirked.

"It wasn't. Not till a moment ago, anyway," he said.

He raised his hand to show her better.

"Because this one?" he said, "Is _yours_."

Glynda's eyes widened.

"How?" she asked.

Eugene spent the next few minutes explaining how the Ray-Sphere worked and what had happened. Glynda's expression never wavered, even during the most gruesome parts of the explanation, but Delsin knew she was only wearing a mask. In her mind, a whole bunch of new headstones just popped up in that graveyard.

When Eugene finished, Glynda knelt down next to the other two professors, her friends, and placed a hand on them.

"I'm so sorry you two," she said, just barely above a whisper.

Fox, having recovered a bit of his composure, walked over to the rest of them. The moment he arrived, his head perked up.

"Hold on," he said, "I thought you said they were dead?"

"Well, they are," Delsin said.

"Well, then how are their hearts still beating?" Fox asked.

Three sets of eyes snapped to him. Fox walked forward and knelt down. He placed a hand on Dr. Oobleck's chest.

"It's faint and _really_ slow, but it's beating," he said, placing a hand on Port's chest, "Both of them are."

Delsin's jaw hung open.

"How?!" he shouted, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but they should be dead!"

Glynda got it first.

"Aura," she said.

Eugene nodded in understanding.

"Ok, maybe. If their Aura was strong enough to keep even the tiniest amount of neuroelectricity in their bodies, they _might_ survive," he said, "But not for long, and definitely not without outside assistance. We need to get them to a hospital or something."

Delsin shook his head.

"We can't worry about them right now," he said, "At least, not only them."

Eugene and Fox looked at him in confusion, but Glynda nodded.

"He's right. If their Aura's did manage to let them survive, then the rest of the students who were in the plaza are still alive as well," Glynda said, "We need to get to them and quickly."

The three of them nodded.

"Eugene, can you leave a few Wingmen to guard them? If any more Grimm come along, I don't want them left alone," Delsin asked.

Eugene nodded and spread his arms.

"No need, kid," A gruff voice said from an alleyway just beside them, "I'll take care of them."

A man walked out. He was tall, easily as tall as Delsin. He had dull red eyes, almost pink in their softness which meshed well with the grey streaks in his jet-black hair. His clothes might have once been a rather nice suit, but it was torn up badly. In his hand he held a massive sword, the blade was over eight inches wide at the base and at least four feet long. There was some kind of clockwork mechanism near the base. To Eugene, he looked like he'd jumped straight out of the anime _Bleach_.

"Qrow?!" Glynda said, "You're here?"

The man in question looked himself over and made a show of poking himself in various places.

"Looks like it," he said.

Glynda rolled her eyes.

"You know this guy?" Delsin asked.

Glynda nodded.

"Yes. He may be more than a little rough around the edges, but you can trust him," she said politely.

"Seriously though kids, I'll take care of these guys. You don't have to worry about them," Qrow said.

Delsin nodded. The four of them ran off in the opposite direction. Behind them, Qrow watched as the vanished from his sight.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I came along when I did," he said.

He held up one hand, and a few drops of misty green liquid fell out of his palm. They landed on the concrete below and began to sizzle.

"Things are starting to get interesting around here."

 **O00000O00000O**

The four of them made good time on their way back, making it to the plaza in a few minutes.

"We need to split up," Delsin said as they arrived, "Eugene, you and Fox take the south end, try and find any more survivors."

"Got it," Fox said.

Eugene nodded and the two of them were off.

"So that leaves the north end to us then?" Glynda asked.

"Right. Let's go."

The two of them started walking.

Delsin took the lead, though only because Glynda was having trouble keeping up with him. She had seen that kind of determination before, the kind born of feeling like if you stopped moving for even a moment, all of your problems might catch up with you. She didn't show it, but deep down she was worried about him.

As they continued walking, Glynda felt something stirring inside her. There was an energy to the sensation, a power entirely unlike that of her Aura or Semblance.

 _"Is this what being a Conduit feels like?"_ she thought.

As she began to explore the sensation, she recalled what Eugene had told her of how this power came to be hers. At the time, she had pushed the overwhelming guilt aside and focused on the problem at hand. But as she took in the sight of the slagged buildings, ruined streets, and so many destroyed lives, the feeling only grew. Instead of crippling her as it normally would have, Glynda found it motivated her. She could no longer do anything to help the people who had died. But, with the power their deaths had given her, she would find the person who did it and make them pay.

"Glynda," Delsin said with just enough force to snap her back to reality, "Are you ok?"

Glynda looked down. Waves of cold were rolling off her forearms, and ice crystals were forming in her hands. She shook her head and after a moment the ice subsided.

"I'm fine," she said, "And it's Professor Goodwitch, thank you."

Delsin smirked.

"You got it, Glynda," he said.

Despite herself, Glynda grinned. Like Delsin, she was trying to find joy wherever she could. She turned back to their path. Her eyes widened.

"Mr. Rowe! Look!" she shouted.

Delsin spun around. In the center of the plaza, he saw Alex hunched over, his wings forming a lopsided shell in front of him.

"Alex!" he shouted, picking up a Boulder Dash. He ran to his friend's side and grabbed his shoulder. The second he did, Alex fell backward, his body frozen like a statue. Delsin scrambled to find Alex's pulse. He managed to find it and let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Unfortunately, he was still unconscious, just as the two professors were.

He heard a bit of coughing behind him.

"Delsin?" he heard a quiet voice say.

He turned around. From a spot that had somehow been untouched by the damage from the explosion, Ruby and Yang slowly began to wake up. Delsin's heart leaped.

"You're ok!" he shouted.

Ruby looked around and saw the destruction.

"What... What happened?" she asked.

"What do you remember?" Glynda asked.

Yang placed a hand on her forehead.

"Well, we were fighting the Grimm," she began, "When we heard someone scream 'Everybody run.'"

"Yeah, that was me and Eugene," Delsin said.

"Well, the second you said it, Alex grabbed us," Yang continued, "He covered us in his wings. Then there was a huge flash of light, and then we were here."

"Delsin, do you know what happened?"

When she saw the troubled look on his face, Yang met his gaze and shook her head slowly.

"Don't worry about that right now," he said, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "All that matters is that you're safe.

Yang smiled and placed a hand on Delsin's shoulder.

 **O00000O00000O**

 **Yang was standing at the mouth of a cave, smiling confidently with her Ember Celica at the ready. Several people were standing behind her, hiding deeper in the cave. One by one, monsters started to approach the cave. Some were shaped like Grimm. Others were shaped like men. It didn't matter. Whenever one of the dark and evil things tried to get into the cave, Yang put it down.**

 **Nothing could get past her.**

 **And she never stopped smiling.**

 **O00000O00000O**

Yang and Delsin both physically recoiled from each other. Delsin put a hand over his face at the massive psychic headache he'd developed and sat down.

"What the hell?" Yang shouted, "What was _that?!"_

Delsin started rubbing his temples as Glynda sat down next to him.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'll be okay," he said.

He looked back at Yang.

"We have a lot to talk about," Delsin said.

 **O00000O00000O**

On the south side, Eugene and Fox were standing on the wreckage of an Atlesian Airship so they could get a better vantage point.

"You see anything?" Eugene asked.

Fox looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

Eugene face-palmed himself.

"Right, sorry," he said, realizing the stupidity of his question.

"It's alright. I get around so well even my own teammates can forget I'm blind," Fox said.

"Yeah, I noticed," Eugene said, "How do you do that anyway?"

Fox tapped his ear.

"My Semblance. I may not be able to see, but my Semblance amped up my hearing so I can perceive everything around me anyway."

"Cooooool," Eugene said in true nerd fashion.

Fox smirked, but his head quirked up.

"Speaking of," he said, "I hear something. C'mon, this way."

Fox Smoke Dashed off the Airship, having gotten much better at controlling his new, if only temporary, powers. Eugene soon followed, letting Fox's super-hearing lead them. They soon found the source of the sound.

George Halbridge was helping Jaune and Nora of Team JNPR to their feet, while Pyrrha and Ren were lying unconscious on the concrete.

"Guys!" Eugene shouted as he and Fox ran to them.

"Eugene!" Jaune replied, surprised.

"You guys ok?" Eugene asked.

"Yeah, _we're_ fine," Jaune said, "but Ren and Pyrrha... they won't wake up."

"Fox?" Eugene said.

Fox nodded.

"Their still alive. For the moment at least. How you feeling George?" Fox asked.

The older man shrugged as he placed his sword on his back.

"I'm ok, but I've had this strange feeling in my stomach since I woke up," he said.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, so have I," Jaune agreed.

"How about you Nora?" Eugene asked.

"Nope. I'm just fine," she said.

Eugene cocked his head to one side in confusion.

"Really?" he asked.

Nora nodded.

"Yep. No problem's here.

"Hmm. That's … odd," he muttered, "But I suppose I should take my miracles where I can get them."

"Fox...?" A quiet and strained voice said to their left, "Is that you?"

Velvet creeped out from behind an upturned shard of destroyed Airship wing.

"Velvet!" Fox shouted.

He ran to his teammate and grabbed her as she fell over. Her back was littered with concrete shrapnel and she was bleeding pretty badly. Eugene looked over her injuries.

"We need to get these things out of her. She can't heal with them still lodged inside her," he said, "Lay her down and I'll get to work."

Fox nodded and helped Velvet down onto her stomach.

"Fox," she croaked.

"Hush, Vel," Fox said, "Eugene'll have you patched up in a minute."

"Coco. Yatsu," she continued anyway, "Just over there."

She pointed past where she'd come out from.

"Help … them..." she said.

Fox looked at Eugene desperately.

"I've got this," the Video Conduit said, "You go."

Fox didn't need to be told twice. He ran around the corner, George following him.

 **O00000O00000O**

After a few moments of running, the two of them found rest of Team CFVY laying on the ground unconscious, just as all the others had been. Fox leaped to his girlfriend's side and scooped her into his arms. He could feel her heart beating, but that didn't help his mood much. Seeing her like that was... disconcerting for him, to say the least. A few tears began to fall from his eyes.

George placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She'll live, Fox," he said, "You know she will."

Fox held her close. After a minute, he rose to his feet, holding her in his arms.

"You're right," he said, "she will. Come on, we need to get back to Delsin."

George nodded.

 **O00000O00000O**

"So I'm a Conduit now?" Yang said.

Delsin nodded.

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

She looked at her hands. After hearing the truth about what happened, she was glad she had sent Ruby with Glynda to find more survivors.

"Wow. Just...wow," she said.

"Yeah, I felt the same thing when I woke up and saw all this."

Yang looked over the city again for what was likely the tenth time in the last hour. She was still letting it all sink in.

"Is there any way to find out what kind of Conduit I am?" she asked absentmindedly.

Delsin shrugged.

"We'll get to that," he said, "I wouldn't worry about it right now."

Yang smiled weakly.

"Delsin!" he heard Eugene's voice say.

Delsin looked up. He saw Eugene walking towards him, Velvet limping alongside him, supporting herself on his shoulder. Behind them, he saw Fox was carrying Coco in his arms. Jaune was similarly carrying Pyrrha, and Nora had Ren slung over her shoulder. A couple of Eugene's Wingmen were helping George carry Yatsuhashi.

Delsin sighed and stood up.

"Looks like we've got more work to do," he said.

He held a hand out for Yang and helped her to her feet.

"Let's get to work."

 **O00000O00000O**

They managed to find a few more survivors, like Sun and Neptune and the rest of Team RWBY. After searching his now ruined home/store, George found his husband Johnathan in a similar state to all the rest in their panic room under the floor of the shop. He hid it well, but Delsin could see the concern and worry on his face, among a myriad of other emotions.

Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood arrived soon after and with no more words the crew that was able loaded the rest onto the airship. Ozpin had a temporary hospital set up in the ballroom to deal with the dozen comatose patients they now had to care for.

That night, none of the students would leave the room. None of them could bring themselves too. So, Ozpin had a few more cots brought in so they wouldn't have to. After a while, no one could stay up any longer and they all crashed on the provided cots.

As the rest fell asleep, Delsin stared up at the ceiling, half wondering and half dreading what tomorrow would bring with it.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Hey guys. This chapter... got a little heavy, I feel like. I hope you still managed to enjoy it.**

 **Anyway, I have news. As far as my internal canon is concerned, there were a total of 10 Conduits activated by the Vale Blast, not counting Delsin and Eugene of course. Nine of them are characters that have already been established.**

 **That leaves One outstanding. One that I will let you the readers create.**

 **For the rest of May, anyone who is so inclined may submit to me by private message (and private message ONLY, please) a dossier for their own personal OC Conduit.**

 **Things to include in your submission are:**

 **Name: Please attempt to follow the Color Naming Rule of RWBY (google it). If you can't don't worry, you can still submit it.**

 **Age: Please try to keep it under 20 years old.**

 **Species: Are they Human or Faunus and if Faunus what kind (nothing too crazy, please**

 **Gender: If you are so inclined, you may submit a Trans or Gender-fluid character, though if you do please also submit their birth sex for my personal notes.**

 **Conduit Power: I'm giving a lot of leeway here, but I'm not allowing any power overlap. If you submit a character with a power I have already assigned to another character, I will inform you so you may change your submission accordingly**

 **Personality: Tell me enough about their characters so that I can accurately write for them.**

 **Backstory: Tell me about where they come from, who their parents are, how they grew up, etc.**

 **Ship: While by no means required, you may submit a suggested pairing if you wish. But let me be perfectly clear here: when submitting a ship recommendation, there are to be absolutely NO LOVE TRIANGLES. NONE. You can do any kind of pairing you wish besides that, but if you submit one with a love triangle, I will throw it out. End of discussion. Also, keep it within 2-3 years of your character's age.**

 **And that's about it. Now, I will be taking the rest of the month off to review them, so the next update will be on the first Tuesday of June, June 5** **th** **. See you then, and I look forward to hearing from you.**


	26. Chapter 26

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 26: Strength**

 **O00000O00000O**

 **Big thank you to everybody who sent in OC submissions! Now, to the lucky person who won, your OC won't be making their first grand appearance in this chapter, but I will include a special little something for you at the end of the chapter.**

 **Now, on with the show!**

 **O00000O00000O**

The next several days were packed. The families of the comatose students and teachers poured in. Ozpin managed to get word to Alex's parents on the island of Vytal, but his mother and older sister were the only ones who made the trip.

Fortunately, Beacon Academy had been spared the destruction. However, Ozpin was taking no more chances than he had to. Any students not on extremely critical missions or out of reach of communications were recalled immediately.

The Valean Council released an official statement within a few hours of The Blast. While claiming no knowledge of the specifics, they pointed fingers at the White Fang as the perpetrators of the attack. Curiously though, the statement said nothing about Conduits or anything of the sort. Delsin couldn't help but wonder if they didn't say anything because Ozpin never told them about Conduits to begin with.

The news never released an official casualty count. No one blamed them; it was hard to know how many people were gone when there were no bodies left behind. Estimates had the death toll in the mid hundreds and from what Delsin knew of the Empire City Blast, he knew they weren't too far off. On the outer edge of the Blast's radius, beyond the initial energy wave, hundreds more were found dead and wounded. Field hospitals had been set up in various locations to deal with the overflow after regular hospitals began to fill up.

It was safe to say that that day would live on in the minds of Vale's citizens for a very long time.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin walked back to Coco's bedside, carrying two cups of coffee. Fox was asleep sitting next to her. Velvet was sitting next to him, fighting to keep her eyes open. Delsin tapped her on the shoulder and held one of the coffee cups out to her. She smiled and took it, taking a long drink.

"Mmm," she said, "Thanks for that."

Delsin smirked.

"No problem," he said, sitting down, "You ok?"

Velvet put her cup down and looked at her friend's unconscious body.

"It just...it doesn't feel real," she said, "Two of my best friends are in comas. Hundreds of people are dead, maybe more. And on top of all that..."

She opened her hand. Nothing appeared, but Delsin could hear her Sound power activate ever so slightly. Delsin smiled sadly.

"Yeah, it takes a while to get used to," he said.

He looked at Fox, sleeping in a chair.

"How's he holding up?" Delsin asked.

Velvet shrugged.

"I think he's ok. Well, not _okay_ , but I don't think he's in danger of falling apart. Not yet at least."

Delsin sighed.

"I'm not surprised. You should have seen me after my brother died; I was a wreck."

Velvet looked at him.

"And how are _you_ holding up?" she asked.

Delsin looked down at his hands. For a split second, he saw them covered in blood. It had been happening on and off since the Blast. But then, the image was gone from his eyes, even if it wasn't gone from his mind.

"Let's just say it'll be a while before I can say I'm ok," Delsin told her, "But I'll live."

Velvet pulled him into a gentle side-hug. The two of them sat there like that and watched their friends sleep. After a while, Delsin noticed his coffee cup was empty. He looked over to find that Velvet

had fallen asleep in her chair. So, he gently moved her hand off his shoulder and placed it in her lap as he stood to get more coffee.

He made his way to the coffee maker that Ozpin had generously set up near the door. He poured himself the last of the pot into his cup and took a long swig. He shook violently as the caffeine entered his system.

Next to him, Ozpin appeared and noticeably cleared his throat.

"Ah-hum," he said.

Delsin looked at him over his shoulder as he started making a new pot.

"Mr. Rowe, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Delsin set the pot down, hearing Oz's serious tone. Oz motioned for Delsin to follow him outside. The two of them left the ballroom and sat down on the front steps. Some of the destruction was visible even from where they sat. To Delsin's mild surprise, Ozpin pulled a flask out of his pocket and took a swig. He offered it to Delsin, and the Conduit took it and did the same then handed it back.

Ozpin sighed.

"You know, having lived in this world as long as I have, I'd come to believe I was getting good at dealing with tragedies," he said, "But when one strikes I realize again that that is impossible."

Ozpin shook his head.

"I won't ask how you are feeling. I feel the answer to that is obvious."

"Thanks," Delsin said, "So what did you want to talk about, Oz?"

Oz took another drink from his flask.

"I wanted to check in and take stock of the situation. I find a semblance of routine helps in situations like these. Have you... taken inventory as it were?"

It took a moment for Delsin to understand what Ozpin was talking about. When he did, he nodded.

"Yeah. When we got here, Eugene and I had them drain their reserves so they wouldn't hurt anyone by accident."

"I see. A good bit of foresight on your part," Oz commented, "And? What did you determine?"

"Well, we know Yang is some kind of Metal, if I had to guess, I'd say iron. Professor Goodwitch is definitely ice. We're pretty sure Jaune is telekinetic, which apparently comes with a whole bunch of other problems."

"Other problems?" Ozpin asked.

"I dunno, something Eugene said," Delsin said, "Ask him."

"I will. Please, continue."

"Ok, well, Velvet is a Sound Conduit."

"Hmm. I can't imagine a power like that would go well with a Faunus's historically sharp hearing."

"Actually it works just fine. When we had them unload on a destroyed building, Velvet's powers didn't phase her at all," Delsin said.

Oz raised an intrigued eyebrow.

"Interesting. And Mr. Halbridge?"

"According to Eugene: Masonry. He can manipulate bricks and mortar and stuff."

"Well, that would certainly help with the reconstruction effort. And what about Mr. Alistair and Ms. Rose? How did they come away from all of this?"

Delsin shrugged.

"Once we were clear, I got my powers back from them, but the Blast fused a bit into them. They have a little bit of the powers I loaned them, but I don't know how much. We'll get to that eventually, I guess."

"True. We do have more pressing concerns."

Ozpin pulled a file out of his coat pocket.

"I had my personal physician test the condition of the comatose students," he said, handing it to Delsin, "Most of it isn't really important, but if you read his summation on the last page..."

Delsin opened it up and flipped to the last page. At the bottom, there was a short paragraph.

'While the patients' bodies remain largely intact, the electricity levels in their nervous systems have fallen to extremely low levels. That being said, it's not that they are comatose as much as they don't have the levels of bio-electricity required for even the most basic levels of consciousness. The fact that they are alive at all is a miracle.

'Additionally, for reasons I cannot discern, their bodies seem unable to regenerate the bio-electricity they have lost and attempts to amplify what remains with Dust have failed. As such, it is uncertain as to whether or not they will ever regain consciousness.'

When he finished reading it, Delsin put the file down next to him. Under normal circumstances, he would be screaming in anger and frustration, but after the events of the last few days he was too exhausted for "angry." The best he could manage was a blank stare at the road in front of him.

"It is a bit hard to read, I understand," Oz said, "But we will find a way to help them."

Delsin stood up.

"I... I need to take a walk," he said.

Oz nodded. Delsin began to walk away, but one last question crossed Ozpin's mind before he got far.

"One last thing Mr. Rowe?"

Delsin managed to stop himself and turn back.

"How in the world did Ms. Valkyrie survive?"

Delsin shrugged.

"She's Nora?"

Ozpin mulled that over, then nodded as if the answer was perfectly plausible.

 **O00000O00000O**

Yang sat next to her sister as she rested next to the beds of her teammates. Much like the rest, neither Weiss nor Blake had shown any kind of improvement, and that combined with everything else that had happened over the last few days often proved to be too much for the Rose Reaper.

Yang hadn't told her, but there were a couple ground up sleeping pills in the decaf coffee she had gotten her. That was probably the only reason the young girl was asleep at the moment. They weren't anything too strong, just enough to make sure Ruby got the rest she needed.

Once her sister fell asleep, Yang stood up to check on everyone. She never said it, but she often felt like she was _everyone's_ big sister, and in a situation like this, that meant she had a whole lot of people to take care of. She checked on Team CFVY first. Velvet and Coco were both asleep fast asleep, which she kind of expected. For a moment she wondered where Delsin was, figuring he wouldn't leave Velvet's side, but then she remembered seeing him walk outside with Professor Ozpin a few minutes ago.

Then there was Glynda. Yang looked for her, but the professor was nowhere to be found. Yang suspected she was off training or something. Anything she could come up with in order to not be here. Yang understood the feeling.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw George Halbridge sitting at his husband's bedside. She found him to be the most worrying. As far as she had seen, he hadn't moved an inch since he sat down in that chair. Not for coffee, not for food, or anything else as far as she could tell.

She stopped by Nora and Jaune next. Jaune didn't say much. Most questions were met with one or two-word answers and he rarely left Pyrrha's side. Nora, however, was just fine. She was her normal bubbly self. Sure, she was sad that Ren was in a coma, but the sadness didn't seem to phase her even a little. It was incredible, especially since by any explanation she should be in a coma right along with him. Not so much as a whisper of Conduit power and the Valkyrie was perfectly fine.

She saw General Ironwood talking to Eugene near the front of the room. She was about to check on him but she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Alex's mom was sitting next to her comatose son's bed. She was crying.

Yang walked over quietly and placed her arms around the woman. Maria leaned into the embrace and her quiet tears began to soak Yang's shirt. Yang didn't mind. She looked at Alex's unconscious body. He was pale. Looking at him, she couldn't help but wonder how she would feel if she were sitting here looking at her own son.

What made it worse, Yang really was sad to see Alex just laying there. Perhaps in part due to his persistence, but also due to his unyielding reliability and generally being a nice guy, Yang had actually started to care about him.

After a while, Alex's mom stopped managed to stop crying. As she wiped her eyes clear, she looked up at Yang.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly, trying to laugh herself back to a neutral emotional state, "It's just-"

"It's a lot. I get it," Yang said.

She sat down and looked at Alex again.

"You know, I was afraid this would happen," Maria said.

Yang looked at her.

"I didn't want him to go to Beacon. I wanted him to stay home with his family," she continued, "But once he sets his mind to something, it takes a miracle to get him off it."

Yang smirked.

"I noticed that," she said.

"I'm sure," Maria replied.

Maria placed a hand on her son's arm.

"He was so strong. Even when he was little, he's always been strong," she said, "Seeing him like this... I wish I'd never let him come here."

She sighed.

"Too little too late, I suppose," she said.

"Don't beat yourself up too hard," Yang said gently, "He would have come here anyway, we both know that."

Maria nodded, a sad smile on her face.

"And honestly, I'm kind of glad he did," Yang continued.

Maria looked at her with an expression halfway between anger and confusion.

"Despite how he looks right now, he's helped us a lot. He stopped Roman Torchwick from escaping a few months ago, he put a stop to pretty much all of the Faunus bullying here, and he's always at the ready whenever anyone needs him. Honestly, I don't want to think about what Beacon would be without him."

Yang almost didn't catch the sly smile that formed on Maria's face as she said that last part. The older woman nodded.

"Thank you for that. I appreciate it," she said, "But nothing will ever stop a mother from worrying."

Yang smiled ruefully.

 _"If only,"_ she thought, thinking about a certain absentee parent of her own.

At that moment, Alex's sister walked back over to them.

"Hey mom, coffee's ready," she said.

"Oh, thank you, Terra," Maria said, rocketing to her feet.

Maria quickly left.

"In her words, it's her only vice," Terra said as she watched her mom leave.

Yang smiled and stood up to go.

"Hey," Terra said gently.

"Hm?"

"I heard what you said to her," she said, "Thank you for that."

Yang smiled again.

"Any time."

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene was sitting at the front of the room, right next to the door. At the moment, he had over thirty Wingmen out in the city clearing debris and helping wherever possible, as well as another fifteen guarding the building. Normally if he tried to summon that many he wouldn't be able to move, but the Ray-Sphere Blast had increased his abilities substantially. Even still, he didn't move much from his spot. He didn't see much need too.

He sat there for hours, simply watching as people milled about the room. After a while, a gloved hand appeared in front of his face, holding out a cup of coffee. Eugene turned to see General Ironwood taking a sip from his own coffee cup.

Silently, Eugene accepted the cup and took a long drink. The General sat down next to him, placing his cup down on the ground beside him.

"In case you were wondering," the General said, "It does get easier."

"I wasn't," Eugene replied, his voice lacking much emotion.

General Ironwood looked at him. Eugene's eyes were locked onto the far wall, and almost entirely vacant. The General recognized that look. He'd seen it on several of his men after major Grimm attacks had wiped out their units.

For a while, the General just sat with him silently. Eventually, it was Eugene who broke the silence.

"May I ask you a question, General Ironwood," he said, maintaining his monotone.

The General nodded.

"Go ahead," he said gently.

"As a soldier, I would assume you have lost fellow soldiers before."

James wasn't expecting him to be that blunt about it, but life had taught him to roll with the punches so to speak.

"Yes, I have."

"And continuing from that assumption, one can similarly assume that you have lost civilians as well."

James gulped. There were several bad memories floating around his head related to that very subject. Many of them were...overwhelming.

"Yes. I have."

"So then allow me to ask: How do you deal with it when you know that the people who died ended up as nothing more than fuel to make you stronger? Whether you wanted that or not?" Eugene asked. James could faintly hear a crack form in his emotionless mask.

He turned to the boy.

"One day, you'll find yourself with a list of everyone whose death you've witnessed, no matter what the circumstances are behind how they did. It won't be a list you've written down, you won't have to. Those names will stay with you for a long while. But that list will have a weight to it. And that weight will only get bigger. So, you can either let it crush you, or you can keep moving forward.

"That's what most people would have you believe."

Eugene turned.

"You see, no one can truly help you carry that weight. They can try, and it can work for a while too, but eventually, it will fall back to you and you alone. However, that doesn't have to be the case. You wanted to know how I deal with the pain? The weight?"

Ironwood smiled.

"I live for them all. I learn about the people I've lost and I add their lives to mine. I care for the ones they've left behind. I find something they loved to do and I do it. Do that, and I promise, the people on your list will end up helping you carry it. And they will never leave."

Eugene looked at him thoughtfully. Slowly, a smile formed on his face.

"Thank you, General."

"Any time," James replied.

Slowly, Eugene got up.

"Before you go," James said, "I have something I need to show you."

Eugene turned again. General Ironwood revealed that a large case had been sitting in the chair next to him. Eugene had, understandably, not noticed it. Either way, the General picked it up and moved it to a nearby table. Eugene followed him.

"I had intended to show this to both you and Delsin together, but given the circumstances..." General Ironwood said, trailing off at the end.

The Atlesian General opened the container. Inside was a strange looking device. It was a primarily a rectangular prism reminiscent of a camera, with two additional handles on the sides as if it were a go-kart steering wheel. There was a screen on the center of the face of the prism facing him, further adding to the camera aspect of the device, but instead of some kind of photo image on the display, there was only a single line, much like that of a medical heart monitor.

"Ok... what is it?" Eugene asked.

"My scientists developed it to identify the energy given off by Blast Shards and Cores, to use your words. We don't know exactly how far it's range is, but all you have to do is point it in a certain direction and it will tell you if there is a Ray Energy response in that direction and how far away it is. We call it the Ray-Scanner."

The General smiled as he turned back to Eugene. The smile quickly evaporated when he saw the look on Eugene's face.

"So, you made a device to track us," Eugene said, barely concealing his anger. His blue Video energy began to swirl around his now-closed fist, "Just like every other military asshole we've ever seen."

General Ironwood gulped. He may have been an accomplished soldier but he did _not_ want to fight a Conduit, especially one with years of practice using his powers.

"And here I thought you might be better than that," Eugene said.

He raised a glowing hand.

"You have three seconds to leave the building," he continued harshly.

General Ironwood raised two hands in surrender.

"If you want me to go, I will. Just let me say one last thing."

Eugene narrowed his eyes and stood unmoving.

"The device needs an active sample of Ray Energy in order to function."

Eugene raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it needs a Conduit in order to run. In fact, only a Conduit can use it."

Eugene lowered his hand and the energy in it died down.

"Explain."

The General cleared his throat.

"No matter what we do, we can't replicate Ray Energy or it's effects in our labs. We can't even keep accurate readings of it electronically because it changes so much that by the time we've recorded one of its states it would already have shifted to an entirely new and completely random one. So instead, we built a device that can receive energy from external sources and then detect similar energies. And since Conduits generate Ray Energy-"

"The device picks up on it and starts searching for similar energy signatures," Eugene said, finishing for the General.

Ironwood nodded.

"In theory at least. We don't have any viable test subjects and the Blast Shards we had burnt out weeks ago," The General said.

Eugene gave him a quizzical look.

"A side effect of their transmutation," Ironwood explained, "We did manage to test it on electricity though, and that worked well enough, so it should be fully functional. Care to try it out? It will beep when it gets a reading."

Eugene turned back to the device, sitting idle in its case. Gingerly, he reached out and picked it up.

 **O00000O00000O**

Jaune was sitting at Pyrrha's bedside when he felt something. He didn't know what it was, but it felt like someone was poking him in the shoulder, over and over.

"What is that?" he whispered.

He tried to ignore it, but the feeling persisted. Somehow, he could feel where it was coming from. He poked his head around the privacy screen surrounding Pyrrha's bed. At the front of the room, he saw Eugene holding a strange box-like device and staring right at him.

"Hey, Eugene," Jaune said, confused, "Help you with something?"

Eugene shook his head and turned away. The second he did, Jaune felt the sensation subside. The Knight shook his head and dismissed it, then returned to his friend's bedside.

No one knew yet, but he had actually asked her out the day before the Breach. Their first date would have been the day after they got back. He had even bought a new Tuxedo for the occasion. By his count, that was three days ago.

Three, very agonizing days.

"Don't worry Pyrrha. We'll fix you up. I promise."

 **O00000O00000O**

"Well, it works," Eugene said.

"Interesting. I didn't think Ray Fields could create that kind of connection," General Ironwood said.

"Neither did I," Eugene said, "But no one really understands them and the research in our world never got that far. Or far at all, really."

"Hm. Well, either way," the General said.

Eugene set the Ray-Scanner down on the table, facing away from everybody. He didn't hear it, but the device beeped softly as he set it down.

 **O00000O00000O**

Far away, a man with a scar over his eye and a shaved head perked up. He felt the same sensation that Jaune had felt.

"What the hell?" he said, a southern accent coloring his voice.

Just as it came, the feeling was gone. The man shook his head.

 **O00000O00000O**

"I know what this device means for you and people like you," The General said, gesturing to the other occupants of the room, "Which is why I'm leaving you with the only prototype."

Eugene raised an eyebrow.

"I've also instructed my researchers to destroy all of their data pertaining to its creation. No one but you will ever have it," General Ironwood continued, "I know that you don't have much reason to trust me and that your previous experience with military types leaves a lot to be desired. So, let me make this first step towards earning your trust."

General Ironwood held out a hand. Eugene was understandably skeptical, but he nodded and decided to give the man a fair chance. He extended his hand and the two shook. The General smiled but felt the Scroll in his pocket buzz. He took it out to check it.

"A general's work is never done," he said with a sigh, "If you will excuse me."

Eugene smiled and nodded. The general turned to leave. Eugene picked up the Ray-Scanner to put it away. But, the moment his fingers gripped the handles, the device started beeping. The General turned back quickly.

"What is it?" he said.

Eugene shook his head. He was facing away from the rest of the people in the room, so the device couldn't have been responding to them, but it was clearly responding to something.

 **O00000O00000O**

Once again, the man with the scar felt the sensation. It nagged at him, so much so that on a hunch he closed his eyes and tried to focus in on where the sensation was coming from. To his utter dismay, he felt something electronic on the other end.

"Oh, baby," he said in excitement, "Come on, let's do this!"

He shut his eyes even tighter, focusing as hard as he could.

 **O00000O00000O**

All of a sudden, the Ray-Scanner began beeping loudly, so loudly Eugene almost dropped it.

"What's happening?!" Velvet shouted, her hands covering her ears.

"I don't know!" Eugene shouted.

Eugene quickly put the thing down and the beeping stopped abruptly. Several of the other people gathered in the room began to gather around them, including Ozpin who came in form outside.

"What in the world was that?" Maria Roman asked.

"I have no idea," Eugene said.

"Nor do I," The General said, "There must be a bug in it. I'll take it back and have it fixed, then return it to you when it's repaired."

Eugene nodded. General Ironwood placed the device back in its case and picked it up. As he was leaving, something about the beeping was eating at him. As he thought about it, he could have sworn it was almost...

His eyes widened as realization dawned.

"Wait!" he exclaimed.

The General stopped.

"Bring that back here and get me something to write with," Eugene said.

"Mr. Sims, what is it?" Ozpin asked.

"The beeping," he said, "It had a pattern."

Ruby appeared next to him, holding a pen and paper.

"Here," she said, holding it out to Eugene.

"Thanks."

Without touching the handles, Eugene took the Ray-Scanner from its case and turned to face the same direction he'd been facing when the beeping started.

"Jaune?"

"Yeah?" the blonde Knight asked.

"Come here," Eugene said.

Jaune came over. Eugene placed the Ray-Scanner in his hands.

"Take this, and hold it right here," he said, maneuvering the device. The beeping started again, though much quieter than the first time.

"Don't move, not even a little," Eugene continued as he began to translate the beeps.

The beeps kept repeating, over and over again. Some beeps were long and some short. After a minute Eugene stopped.

"Somebody get Delsin back here," Eugene said.

"Mr. Sims, what is going on?"

"The beeps did have a pattern. Morse Code."

When he saw the blank looks people were giving him, he kept going.

"On my world, Morse code was developed as a tool to send messages over long distances by a series of long and short beeps. Every group of beeps forms a letter and by putting them together we could spell out words."

"So someone was using this thing to send you a message?" Jaune said.

"Exactly," Eugene said with a nod.

"And?" Ozpin asked, "What was the message?"

Eugene held up the paper. The message was only one word.

"Conduit."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **I can't find the right words to express it in dialogue so let me just say it plainly: I'm really excited. Next chapter, we get to a big reveal that I have been waiting for since I started this project and that you guys have been asking about for a looooong time.**

 **A hint? The title of the next chapter: "Thunderstorm."**

 **Oh, and just because I don't want to waste dialogue on the issue, No, Nora is not Cole's mystery daughter (though I admit that if I had thought of that earlier, it would be the case). Nora survived the Blast simply because she has about five times the average amount of neuroelectricity in her body and the Ray Sphere takes the same amount of neuroelectricity from each person, at least in my personal canon. So, to paraphrase what I said in the chapter: Nora survived because Nora is Nora.**

 **Now, I want to thank everyone who submitted characters for our little contest. Truly, if I could put more than one of them in, I would. Unfortunately, I simply don't have the room. As for who the winner is... well, read on.**

 **I did promise a special something for them.**

 **O00000O00000O**

After the Blast, a young woman was lying among the ruins. Even after a week, no one had found her. It was no wonder really; she was small, only barely over 5'4", and had been hiding in what was once a back alley. Not an uncommon place for this particular Faunus to be found, as she typically tricked most of her targets into coming to places like this.

As she lay there, passed out on the cold ground, something happened. A powerful feeling pulsed through her entire body. She woke with a start, hyperventilating like waking from a nightmare. Her heart was racing but she had no idea why.

After a minute, she managed to calm herself down a bit. Slowly, the girl stood up, brushing her pale blonde hair out of her eyes. She limped to the end of the alley and made her way out.

She nearly fell over again when she saw the city.

The girl rubbed her neck, horrible awe overwhelming her senses.

"What the hell happened here?" she asked.

Just then, the same sensation that woke her up wracked her body. Fire began to spring from her hands. The heat was intense, not like that of a fire used to survive. This was the fire that burned down buildings, wiped out forests.

Dorado Arachne looked down at her hands in fear.

"What's happening to me?"

 **O00000O00000O**

 **A very special thanks again to everyone who entered, Subject ZeroOne, Ninetails the Nine Tailed Fox, Sif the Great, and congratulations to TheStrangerThatCameFromNowhere: You won the contest.**

 **Now as I said, this was really a hard decision to make, and if at some later date I can add in more of your OC's I will try. Now, Stranger, please keep an eye on your inbox, I should be in touch within a couple of days so we can discuss moving forward.**

 **See you next time!**


	27. Chapter 27

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 27: Thunderstorm**

 **O00000O00000O**

"So do we know where this mystery Conduit is?" General Ironwood asked.

The surface of Professor Ozpin's desk shifted into a holographic map of Remnant.

"More or less," Eugene said, "Thanks to the Ray-Scanner's detection system, we know that they are about a 122 miles north-northeast of us, so about... here."

As he spoke, Eugene used his Video powers to manipulate the map. A line appeared connecting the two points.

"Do we know what's there?" Delsin asked.

"Unfortunately no," Ozpin said.

"Yeah, that's really deep into the Forest of Forever Fall," Yang said, "No one's ever gone that far in before, there are just too many Grimm and not enough safe places."

"I know I never have," George said, away from his husband for the first time in a week.

"Additionally, the topography is treacherous," Glynda added, "A series of ravines begin about here, thirty miles south of where you need to be, and no one knows exactly how far it goes because the tree cover is so dense."

"Well, what if we drop down from a Bullhead?" Jaune posited, "That would get around that problem, wouldn't it?"

Glynda rolled a hand in a gesture of acquiescence.

"Unfortunately, that won't be possible," Ozpin interrupted.

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

"After the attack, the Council saw fit to ground all air traffic in and around Vale," he said.

The assembled Conduits and students groaned.

"Even at my fastest it would take me hours to get there," Delsin said, "And by then I'd be too tired to do anything."

"Me too, and I can fly," Eugene said.

"Well then, it seems this mission must be delayed," Ozpin said.

"No, we can't wait!" Delsin said.

Everyone looked at him in shock.

"Mr. Rowe?" Ozpin said gently.

Delsin sighed.

"Tell him, Eugene."

Eugene nodded and turned to face the group. All of the Conduits both new and old, as well as Ruby, Fox, Nora, and General Ironwood, focused on him. Eugene took a deep breath.

"Based on how this guy interacted with the Ray-Scanner, we believe that he may be able to manipulate electricity. And if that's the case, given his ability to manipulate the circuitry of an object from over 100 miles away, he's got to be a damn powerful Conduit," Eugene said.

At first, all Eugene got was confused looks. George got it first and placed a surprised hand over his mouth.

"You think he can-" George said, his voice catching in his throat.

Eugene nodded. Slowly, realization dawned on everyone.

"I'll see what I can do," Ozpin said, "But you all need to get some sleep. Nothing more will be happening today, no matter what I do."

With a little resistance, the students began to walk out of the room. With a small nod, George led them out. When they were gone, Ozpin turned to the rest of them.

"I can have an airship in the sky to fly them there in five minutes," General Ironwood said.

"There's no need," Ozpin said.

"No need?!" Glynda shouted, "How about ten students in comas! How is that for need!"

"Glynda, maybe you should calm-" General Ironwood started.

"Do NOT tell me to calm down James!" she said, flicking her riding crop at him, "Those are my students and friends down there, and I will not just sit around and wait for them! Not even for one day!"

"Glynda," Ozpin said, his tone forceful.

Glynda looked at him in rage but saw that he was pointing at her hands. Ice crystals were forming on her palms. Some had already shattered on the floor. Glynda closed her hands and forced herself to calm down.

"Sorry," she said quietly, "These... powers are rather difficult to control at times."

Ozpin nodded.

"But Ozpin," James said, "Why do you say there's no need?"

Ozpin smiled knowingly.

"Well, given what we know about them, I'd wager Delsin will be _taking_ an airship soon enough. And it will be easier to sanction an action after the fact rather than risk you being asked to leave for disobeying an order from our Council, won't it James?"

General Ironwood shook his head and smiled.

"Glynda, could you perhaps go and patrol the Airship Docks? I have a feeling someone may try something untoward and I need someone I trust there to make sure everything goes ok."

Glynda nodded, a conspiratory smile on her face.

"I would be happy to, Headmaster."

"Very good."

 **O00000O00000O**

Above them, sitting on a ledge just outside the window, Maria Roman overheard the entire conversation. Bird Faunus may not have the hearing advantages that most Faunus do, but Maria had something better: Mom-hearing.

As soon as Glynda left Ozpin's office, Maria leaped into the air and glided away.

If those kids were going off into danger to find someone who could fix her son, she was going with them.

After all, there is nothing a mother won't do to protect her child.

 **O00000O00000O**

"So we aren't waiting are we?" Eugene asked.

"Not a chance in hell," Delsin said.

"Great," Ruby said, "We'll go get our gear."

"No, you're not coming," Delsin said.

All of the students behind him stopped dead.

"What?" Yang asked flatly.

"I know I did not just hear you say 'No you're not coming,'" Fox said, "Because I know you are not that stupid."

"I can't take you with me," Delsin repeated, "None of you can control your powers yet, and in a fight that makes you liabilities."

Yang bit her tongue when she realized he was right: until they learned to control their new powers, they wouldn't be of much help to anyone.

"What about me?" Eugene asked.

Delsin turned to him.

"I need you here to protect them. All of them. Whoever unleashed the Blast is still out there, and I need you here to make sure the people stay safe," Delsin explained, "I'd do it myself, but you can cover a lot more ground than I can."

Eugene didn't like it, but he nodded.

"But you can't go alone!" Velvet said.

Delsin gave her a solemn look.

"I can. And I will."

"No, you won't."

Delsin turned. Nora had moved to the front of the group and was looking straight at him.

"I don't have any new powers, and if someone out there can get R- can get my friends back on their feet, then I'm going with you," Nora said. Delsin could hear her voice break just a bit in the middle there, but he didn't blame her.

Slowly, he nodded.

"I'm going too!" Jaune shouted.

"No, Jauney," Nora said gently.

"Why not?!" he shouted.

Nora pulled softly him into a close hug. She was on the verge of tears.

"Because, if this doesn't work, I don't want to lose any more friends than I already have," she whispered.

Jaune's anger evaporated as he heard that. He melted into the hug and squeezed his teammate. Eventually, Nora let go and patted Jaune on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'll be back," she said with a smile.

Jaune nodded and looked to Delsin.

"You keep her safe," he said.

Delsin nodded, and he and Nora walked off, Nora's weapon already on her back. The other students simply watched them go. When they were gone, the other students walked away, returning to the ballroom/temporary hospital.

Silently, Fox and Ruby slipped away from the group.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin and Nora didn't even bother with stealth on their way to the airship docks. They didn't need to really since the place was almost deserted. It didn't take them very long to find an open Bullhead.

"So, do you know how to fly one of these?" Nora asked.

"How hard could it be?" Delsin replied nonchalantly as he placed the Ray-Scanner's crate down on the floor.

"Quite difficult actually," a voice said behind them.

Delsin and Nora's blood ran cold. They slowly turned to see Glynda sitting in one of the passenger's seats, he legs crossed and her riding crop resting in her hand.

"Oh... Hey Professor Goodwitch," Delsin said, standing up and trying to sound innocent, "We were just-"

"Assisting with routine maintenance, I'm sure," Glynda finished for him.

Nora and Delsin were a little surprised by her response.

"Sure," Nora said, "Let's go with that."

"Well then," Glynda said as she strolled forward from her seat, "Let's make sure you do it properly. And just to make sure, I think a test flight is in order."

Nora shrugged and strapped herself in as Glynda took the pilot's seat. Delsin was stunned, and more than a little confused.

"Wait, what exactly is going on here?" he asked.

Glynda rolled her eyes.

"Must I spell it out for you?" she asked, "Surely you can work it out for yourself."

"No, I get why you're here," Delsin replied, "But that just has me more confused."

Glynda turned and looked at him, her face completely serious.

"Because you are going on a suicide mission to save your friends and mine, and I'll be damned if I let you go without experienced help."

Delsin was stunned. Slowly, he nodded and took a seat in the back of the Bullhead.

"Ok then. Let's get going," Glynda said.

She started the engine and the Bullhead lurched into the sky.

 **O00000O00000O**

As he saw the Bullhead fly off, Ozpin smiled. He heard the video-phone on his desk ring. He sighed and answered the call.

"Ozpin! What is going on here?!" Councilman Chambers shouted.

"Councilman? Whatever are you speaking of?" Ozpin asked innocently.

"Don't play games with me! The Council has ordered all air travel grounded!" the Councilman shouted, "So why is a Bullhead flying out of the Kingdom, piloted by one of _your_ faculty?!"

Security footage of Glynda flying the Bullhead took over the screen.

"I'm sorry, Councilman, but I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. Now if you'll excuse me, I have students to look after," Ozpin continued, "Good day."

"Ozpin! Don't you dare h-"

Ozpin pressed the end call button and smiled wider. He knew that would come back to bite him soon, but Councilman Chambers was an idiot whose foresight could barely extend beyond the bridge of his nose. Ozpin enjoyed watching him squirm.

 **O00000O00000O**

"How far out are we?" Delsin asked.

"About 60 miles away," Glynda said, "We'll get there in about five minutes, though we'd make better time if we didn't have to stop to skirmish with the Grimm."

Delsin nodded. They'd had to deal with a whole lot of Nevermore's, both giant and not, since a few miles back. It was one of the many reasons no one had ever gotten this far into the Forest. But, between Nora and Delsin, they had managed to hold it together.

All of a sudden, the Bullhead shook.

"We've got another big one!" Nora shouted.

"On it!" Delsin shouted.

Delsin opened the door once again and leaned out, hanging onto the railing so he could aim. On the other side, Nora did the same, easily hefting Magnhild with one hand.

"Where is it?!" Delsin shouted, his voice barely audible over the roar of the wind.

"I don't know!" Nora replied.

A shadow passed over them, blotting out the sun in its enormity.

"Oh," Delsin said, "There it is."

Delsin readied a Neon bolt, and Nora readied Magnhild. They were about to open fire when the giant Nevermore spontaneously burst into snowflakes.

"Wh-... Wh-... The fuck just happened?" Delsin asked as a gentle snow flurry descended upon them.

Nora shrugged, stupefied. Then, a shape descended towards the open door where Delsin stood.

"Room for one more?" Maria Roman asked floating alongside them, her hair a pale blue.

Still a little confused, Delsin stood aside and welcomed her inside.

"How did you do that?" Nora asked, her eyes wide in child-like wonder.

"Oh, I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve," she said.

"I've never seen Alex do anything like that," Delsin said in amazement.

Maria turned to him, a sly smile on her face.

"I taught him everything _he_ knows," she said, "Not everything _I_ know."

Delsin just nodded, not sure what to make of that.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Maria said, "Let's go!"

Delsin shook his head and reoriented himself.

"Right," he said, "Glynda, you good up there?"

"Naturally," she replied.

"Ok, punch it."

Glynda smiled.

"With pleasure."

 **O00000O00000O**

They landed about five minutes later. Before them was a large structure, seemingly a fortress or maybe even a temple of some kind. It was impossible to tell. The building, whatever it was, was extremely old and most of it had fallen to ruin. The core of it was still there, for the most part, but the outer faces were badly lost to decay.

"Are we sure he's in here?" Glynda asked.

Delsin removed the Ray-Scanner from its crate and swept it over the building. Sure enough, as he did, the device went off. Their target was here.

"Yep, he's exactly 326 feet that way," he said, pointing just left and a little bit down from the entrance.

"Well then, let's go get him," Maria said, forging ahead.

"Hold on," Delsin said with a sigh.

"Hm?"

Delsin jumped back into the Bullhead. He walked over to the cargo bay door and sighed. He opened it, and out fell Ruby and Fox.

"Come on you two," he said, much like a parent dragging along a troublesome child.

Ruby blinked.

"How did you-?" she asked.

"We didn't make a sound! I made sure!" Fox said in amazement.

Delsin smirked.

"The funny thing about being a smart-ass: Smart is still in there. I knew you were there seconds after you got on board," Delsin told them.

Nora started giggling. Ruby looked at him in amazement while Fox found his feet. Delsin grabbed Ruby's arm and helped her to her feet.

"Come on. No sense in you staying here," Delsin said, walking to the structure's entrance, "Everybody follow me."

Delsin strode past them all and walked inside. Maria fell in behind him, as did Nora, and with a single disapproving glare at the two other students, Glynda followed suit. As they shook themselves back to reality, Ruby and Fox readied their weapons and walked inside.

The hallway was straight and dark, evidently as decayed as the rest of the building. Delsin raised a ball of Neon in his hand and set it floating over his shoulder. It was one of the many new talents he'd discovered since the Blast. The walls were intricately carved, that much was evident even in their current state. There were traces of pictographs on them, and though they had been largely lost to time, some were still visible.

They were pictures of Grimm. Intricate and detailed paintings, crafted with such a level of precision one could almost call it loving.

"What _is_ this place?" Nora asked.

"I don't know," Glynda said, her tone curious.

"Back when our kingdom was around there were legends of places like these," Maria said, "Places built by cultists who saw Grimm as a kind of divine entity, sent by the Gods to punish men with hate in their hearts. So they built these places to honor them and placate their wrath."

"Did it work?" Ruby asked.

"Look around and see for yourself," Maria said.

Ruby gulped audibly and gripped Crescent Rose a little tighter.

Fox sighed.

"Wish I could _see_ so I'd know what the fuck you all are talking about," he said.

Perhaps it was something in his jovial and playful tone, but no one could stop themselves from laughing. Even Glynda had a joyful smile on her face. Delsin caught a glimpse of Fox's face and noticed the small smile he wore. Delsin internally applauded his ability to dissolve the tension that had begun to form.

The Auburn Fox strolled forward and the rest followed behind him as they kept walking. But, after about two more minutes he abruptly stopped, holding up a closed fist.

"What is it, Fox?" Delsin asked.

"I hear something," he whispered.

"What?"

At that very moment, a roar like nothing they had ever heard before echoed through the hall. Fox fell to his knees and covered his ears, the cacophony of the roar drowning out his pained cries. The rest of the team were similarly incapacitated as the seemingly unending roar washed over them. But when the hallway began to collapse behind them, they had no choice but to run further into the building. Delsin picked up Fox to carry him over his shoulder.

Eventually, the roar died down and the hallway stopped collapsing. Fox was still pretty out of it, so Delsin set him down by the wall of the room they now found themselves in.

"What the heck was that?!" Nora asked.

"I don't know," Delsin told her.

"Well, it took down our way out," Glynda said, a little out of breath.

"You ok Professor?" Ruby asked.

"I'll be fine Ms. Rose," Glynda replied, "Though I should have probably rethought my footwear."

"I agree," Maria commented, "Heels are very hard to fight in."

"Thank you!" Ruby said, "My partner does it all the time and the rest of my team constantly makes fun of me because I can't walk in them!"

"It takes practice," Maria told her.

As the girl talk continued, Delsin smirked and checked on Fox.

"Hey man, you feeling ok?" Delsin asked.

"What?!" Fox shouted.

"I said, are you feeling ok!" Delsin said, raising his voice a bit.

Fox nodded.

"I'll be fine! Just a little ringing in my ears!"

"Well get over it. We'll need you to find our target in this place."

"Got it," Fox said, his hearing already starting to return.

Over the conversation, Delsin almost missed it: the low growling sound coming from farther in. He shushed the ladies and focused. Whatever was causing the sound was coming closer.

"Everybody ready," he said, "We're gonna have company."

In the dim light, Delsin could barely see the others nod. With a bit of effort, Delsin made a ball of Neon in his hand and lobbed it into the air. It illuminated the domed room in its purple glow and Delsin made it stop right when it reached the apex of the dome. It hung there as if it were suspended by a string and Delsin didn't even need to expend much concentration to keep it there; one of the many new talents he had discovered after the Blast. On the far wall, there was another opening, a hallway, much like the one that had just collapsed. And in it, there were dozens of creatures that could only be described as one thing.

Monsters.

They looked somewhat similar to the Corrupted Grimm Delsin and Team RWBY saw when they went to Rintah, only these were much more diverse and much more grossly mutated. The mutations in the corrupted Beowolves and Widowmaker were controlled, specifically designed for efficiency. With these, the Corruption was rampant. No two were alike, and not just because they were all different Grimm. The mutations had cost them most of their fur (or scales, depending), leaving nothing but the same sickly green-gray skin the others had. Some had lost arms or legs, where others had gained an almost comical amount.

"What are they?"Maria asked.

"Probably prototypes for the Corrupted Grimm. Failures," Delsin said

"Corrupted Grimm?"

"An attempt by someone to make the Grimm more deadly by mixing them with Conduit powers," Delsin explained.

"That doesn't sound good," Maria said.

"Indeed," Glynda said, "Ms. Rose, stay with Mr. Alistair, keep him safe while he recovers."

"But-" Ruby tried to say.

"Do what she says Ruby," Delsin said.

Ruby pouted a bit but did as she was told.

The horde began to charge as Delsin, Maria, Glynda, and Nora moved forward.

"So how do you wanna do this Delsin?" Nora asked.

"Fast. We can't let this drag out, we don't have the resources to take down an army, and that's what this looks like," Delsin said.

"Agreed," Glynda said.

"How you doing Mrs. Roman?" Delsin asked.

"I've got some fuel left in the tank. And I brought a few other crystals just in case," she said.

"Good. Then let's get started."

They met just after that, one Grimm leading the horde and Delsin standing in front. And when they met, Delsin punched it with everything he had, knocking it to the ground and breaking its neck.

As the first fell, many more came in behind it, but Delsin had another trick up his sleeve. See, ever since the Blast, not only could Delsin switch between powers at will, he could have two active at the same time. And that opened a new world of possibilities.

Delsin conjured a Digital Longsword in his right hand and swept the blade in a wide arc, cleaving through another three of the corrupted monstrosities. Two more came and tried to flank him, and Delsin stabbed at the one on the right. When the other tried to swipe at him, it's claws impacted harmlessly against the Stasis Shield on Delsin's other arm.

Nora bashed that one with Magnhild, allowing Delsin to focus on the other enemies. The sparky redhead was practically on fire, jumping from enemy to enemy and using her hammer to propel her across the battlefield and smash everything that got in her way. But eventually, she had to stop and allow Magnhild's chamber's to cycle so it could reload its grenades. So, Nora went to work and started smacking down as many Grimm as she could. But, as she struck down a particularly large mix of Alpha Beowolf and Ravager, she left herself wide open to an attack from a Creep Spiker. Nora readied herself to take the blow, but it never came.

The acid-pellets of the shotgun-like blast stopped over a foot away and dropped to the ground harmlessly. In her peripheral vision, Nora saw Glynda with a hand raised in her direction, a bit of Aura flaring around it. With a smile, Nora felt the chamber's finish cycling, and so, she once again went flying.

Glynda, in turn, had taken the opportunity to use this battle as practice for her powers. Since there was no shortage of enemies and the chance of hitting friendlies was low, she let loose. Over a dozen of the Corrupted Grimm were now frozen statues or shattered fragments of them. In fact, Glynda had gotten rather good at it, and surprisingly she found it fun. It reminded her of when she first discovered her Semblance: the power in her hands, the strength she wielded because of them. It was exhilarating.

Maria watched her freeze the Grimm with ease, and she felt just the slightest twinge of jealousy. But she pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the task at hand. She unloaded her Ice crystal, using the shards she fired to make pathways in the battle lines, funneling enemies into groups and limiting their movement, all the while trying to make sure no one was overwhelmed, something she was very good at.

From behind Ruby watched in awe as the battle unfolded.

"Wow," she whispered.

No enemies had even gotten close to her and Fox, so she had just taken to firing on the strays. But to be honest, there weren't many. The team worked together seamlessly, though that was in part due to the low level of intelligence of the enemies they were facing.

But, even still, no team is perfect, and with seemingly no end to the number of monsters, the fight was starting to drag on.

"Fox!" Delsin yelled as the beasts began to push them back, "You ok?!"

"Yeah!" Fox shouted back.

"Find him!" Delsin called, "We can't do this forever!"

"On it!"

Fox closed his eyes. He forced himself to tune out the sounds of battle. Instead, he used the echoes to build a map of the building in his mind. He let the sound flow, focusing harder than he had in a long time until at last, he found something. A heartbeat.

"Got him!" Fox shouted, "He's below us!"

"Great!" Delsin shouted.

With a twirl, Delsin unleashed a flurry of Neon and Video blasts, obliterating many of the enemies near him.

"Go!" Maria shouted, "We can handle things here!"

"Are you sure?" Nora asked.

Glynda flicked her wrist and several of the Grimm closest to her collapsed as their necks snapped.

"Yes, now go!" she said.

The two of them ran off, quickly joined by Ruby and Fox. The four of them broke off from the fight and ran down a side corridor, one of two that were on either side of the room. Glynda and Maria watched as they ran down the right-hand path.

"Well now, now to let loose and show these monsters what we can really do, wouldn't you agree Glynda?" Maria asked.

Glynda smiled.

She flicked her wrist and expelled an ice bolt with her Conduit powers, then enhanced the power of the bolt with her telekinesis. When the icicle collided with an enemy, it punched straight through the first enemy and another six behind it.

"I do indeed," she said.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin, Ruby and Nora followed Fox as he ran through the building following his superhuman hearing. Were it under any other circumstances, Delsin would be laughing at the irony of being led around by a blind man, but here in a closed space with tons of echo, Fox was invaluable. There were a few short skirmishes as they ran, but between the four of them, they didn't have much trouble.

After a few minutes of running, the four of them were standing in front of a large ornamental door.

"Is this is?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah, I hear a human heartbeat on the other side of the door. But you could still check, right?" Fox said.

Delsin nodded and pulled out the Ray-Scanner. Sure enough, the device started beeping softly and the display told them the target was only 24 feet away.

"Is it him?" Nora asked.

"Let's hope so," Delsin said.

He pushed open the door.

And his mouth hit the floor. Suspended in a metal barred cage was a man Delsin recognized all too easily. He wore a pair of navy sweatpants with a white asterisk down one leg, and the tattered remains of a white and gray shirt. His head was shaved and there was a scar over his right eye. He was seriously emaciated and looked like he was starving, but there was mistaking it.

The man before him was none other than Cole MacGrath.

"'Bout damn time kid," Cole said, looking up to the sky.

"You knew we were coming?" Ruby asked.

"I wasn't talking to you," he said, his southern accent coloring his voice, "But yeah, I knew you were coming."

Nora felt something off and looked around. Behind her, Delsin was trembling.

"Delsin? What's wrong?" She asked.

Delsin shook his head slowly.

"How?" he asked, "We thought you were dead! Everybody thought you were dead!"

Cole and Delsin locked eyes.

"We can talk about that later," Cole said, "Right now we need to get out of here, right? So, can you help me?"

The rest of the team nodded. Delsin shook his head once again and shelved his feelings of shock.

"Nora, can you get him out?" Delsin asked.

"No problem!" she said, cheerily.

"Ok," he said.

He turned to face the cage and raised a hand to the chain holding the cage in the air.

"Brace yourself," he said. Cole gripped the bars of his cage tightly, and Delsin fired a Neon Bolt. The chain burst and the cage fell. Cole groaned as he hit the ground. With his emaciated and malnourished body, it hurt a lot more than he was used to. Nora strolled up to the cage and gripped the bars. Groaning with the effort, she tried to pull them apart. To Cole's surprise, the bars did actually bend a bit, though not enough to get him out. Nora had to stop and rest for a moment.

"You ok Nora?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah," she panted, "It's harder than it looks."

"Sorry I ain't much help," Cole said, "I'm a little low on power."

Delsin started pacing, trying to think of a way to get him out.

"Wait, you're an electricity Conduit, right?" Ruby said.

Cole looked over Nora's shoulder.

"You brought a kid? Here?" he asked, his voice concerned.

"I'm 15!" Ruby shouted.

Cole's eyes widened a bit, but he just smirked.

"And you didn't answer my question," she continued, pouting a bit.

Cole smiled.

"Yeah, I am."

"Well then, blast Nora," she said.

"Wait, what?" Cole asked, "Are you crazy? I'd kill her!"

"No, you won't kill me," Nora told him as she started to smile, "You'll make me stronger."

Cole shook his head.

"You sure about this kid?" he asked, looking at Delsin.

Delsin nodded.

"Ok," Cole said with a shrug, "Come here."

Nora approached the cage again and Cole placed a hand on her shoulder. Electricity surged into her body, almost too much for her to bear. She roared in pain, but true to her word, she was stronger for it. When Cole turned off the juice, Nora gripped the bars again. This time, they bent like silly putty. In fact, the bars were actually deformed where she had been gripping. She stepped away and Cole just looked at her in mild shock.

"Well alright then," he said, looking at her.

"Yeah, stuff gets weird here," Delsin said, "But right now, we need your help. You ready to go?"

Cole smirked.

"You bet your ass I am."

 **O00000O00000O**

Back at the battle, Glynda and Maria were getting tired. Maria had fallen back to the ground to fight beside the professor and the two did their best, but no matter how many they stopped more always came. Maria's Aura was broken and Glynda's wasn't far behind.

Just as the two of them killed a pair of Creep Spikers, all of their enemies stopped. They were frozen still, so much that Glynda actually wondered if she had somehow done it. But then it came. Another roar like the one earlier, only this one was much louder, and much, _much_ , closer. Glynda and Maria were forced to their knees from the pain.

The monsters moved away from them and walked to the wall. The roar was much shorter this time, and luckily the roof didn't collapse. The two women managed to find their feet, though their ears were ringing. But even through it all, they could hear the approaching enemy's footfalls. They were heavy, so much so that the ground was shaking.

The two of them looked up into the face of the new enemy. Glynda saw parts of an Ursa plainly evident: the bone spikes on the back, the clawed feet, the short black fur, just to name a few. The rest of the creature was alien to her. The six-legged creature was covered in some kind of organic plate-mail, only leaving its joints exposed. Its beady yellow eyes were the only visible part of its face, the rest hidden behind similar plates. That is until it roared again.

The plates on its face rolled away and revealed a mouth that took up most of its face. The teeth were massive, easily a foot and a half long. Suffice it to say, both women were, if only slightly, unnerved.

"What is that thing?" Maria asked.

"I don't know," Glynda said, "But we need to kill it."

Maria shook off the shock and steeled herself. Having since run out of power, she reached into her pocket ate an Air Crystal.

"Well then. Let's do it," she said as her hair turned green.

The two of them squared off with the monster, ready to fight once more.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin, Cole and all the rest soon arrived back at the battle to find that Glynda and Maria, while having fought valiantly, the ice around the battlefield a clear indication of that, were unconscious. It only took them a second to find the creature that had done them in, seeing as it was the size of a small house.

"Holy shit," Cole said, "Is that a Devourer?"

"Professor Goodwitch! Mrs. Roman!" Ruby shouted.

She nearly charged in, but Delsin grabbed her before she could.

"What are you doing?! We have to save them!" she shouted.

"Yeah, but we aren't equipped to deal kill something that big and that heavily armored, not to mention all of the other things surrounding it. We need to get them out of here and get away."

"Kid's right," Cole said, "Normally I could kill that thing easy, but I'm about out of juice and I've got no way to recharge. We need to get out of here."

Fox and Nora nodded. Ruby settled down, but only barely.

"Ok, Fox, Ruby, you guys grab the two of them and get keep them safe. Cole," Delsin said, only barely managing to not trip over the name, "You, and me need to hold that thing off while Nora makes an escape route. Everybody got it?"

They all nodded.

"Alright then. Let's get to work."

 **O00000O00000O**

"Hey ugly!"

The Ursa/Devourer turned it's head to look at the source of the shout. It saw Delsin and Cole, side by side, one with smoke, the other with lightning, staring right at it.

"Sup."

The two of them opened fire, drawing the beast's attention. As they did, Ruby and Fox Dashed in with Neon and Smoke respectively. They grabbed the unconscious ladies and got them as far from the battle lines as they could

"You ready for this?" Delsin asked.

"You kidding kid? I've been waiting for something to hit for the last seven years," Cole replied, a smile on his face, "I got the legs, you focus on his head!"

With that, Cole charged into battle for the first time in seven years. He sprang forward, ignoring the screaming pain in his body from years of confinement. Delsin smiled as he kept firing on the beast. With Neon to blind it and Sulfur-infused Smoke to incapacitate it, the beast was very well distracted.

When it roared again, Cole let loose a quick succession of Magnum Bolts into its maw, the only place it was vulnerable. At the same time, Delsin Neon Dashed in on the beast, launched himself into the air and punched it as hard as he could with a concrete covered fist. The rock broke against the creature's armor, but the concussive force was enough to daze it. The Beast stumbled just a bit, it's legs on one side rising only a few feet. But, it was all Cole needed.

Cole spread both hands and threw two Lightning Tethers. One attached to the far wall of the room. The other, right on the monster's still ground bound front foot. The magnetic force of the tethers drew them together hard with Cole at the center. The monster flipped over like a turtle and roared once more as it did. Nevertheless, the beast was down.

"Yeah!" Delsin cheered, "Nice job old timer!"

"Hey, I ain't old yet!" Cole shouted back.

Behind them, the roof exploded just above the wall and sunlight filtered in.

"Guys! We're ready!" Nora shouted.

"We figured that out when the roof exploded!" Delsin shouted, happily.

"Come on! Let's go!" Ruby shouted.

"You got it, Rubes!" Delsin said.

He and Cole ran to the opening, but just as their backs turned the beast roared one more time. IT didn't have the power the previous roars did but it was enough to get their attention. Good thing too, since the roar was accompanied by over a dozen balls of acidic projectiles.

Delsin and Cole hurriedly opened fire, destroying them.

"Damn, this thing just won't quit, will it?" Delsin asked.

"Yeah, they do that," Cole replied.

Cole walked forward at a slow pace.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Delsin asked, shooting down the second volley of acid balls.

"Just something to make sure this guy stays down for a bit. Something I've been saving for a looooong time," Cole said.

When he was no more than thirty feet away, Cole stopped. The beast didn't even see him until it was too late. Cole crossed his arms and a faint purple glow could be seen surrounding him.

"Ionic... _STORM!"_

A massive bolt of lightning crashed through the ceiling and smashed straight into the monster. The monster shook violently as if it were seizing as the electricity wracked it's body until finally, its limbs fell limp and it was unconscious.

Cole fell over, his body not used to the strain. As the other monsters began to close in after the beast fell, Delsin rushed in and grabbed Cole, a crazy grin on his face.

"You really are a crazy old man," Delsin said.

The two of them made their way quickly out of the building, Delsin sealing the entrance behind them, and a few minutes later they were on their way back to Beacon, their mission complete.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **And so comes the twist that just about everyone saw coming. Really hoped you all enjoyed Cole's first true appearance and be ready to see more of him. Side note, I was really tempted to turn the reveal on its head and have Zeke in Cole's place just to screw with you guys, but I thought better of it.**

 **Now onto some... less happy news. Now before you start worrying, no I am not stepping away from this story or going on hiatus or anything like that. But, I have come into some financial hardships lately, and my $8/hour job just won't cut it. So, I started an account on a crowd-funding website that is spelled as "patron" with an "e" right after the "r". Just search for pop82 when you arrive at said website to find me. apologies, the FF doc manager won't let me post the actual name.**

 **Currently the only tier is $2 a month, a meager pledge. Now, this will give you access to patron only content, which means from now on I will post each chapter of this fic and all later fics to my the second I finish them, and my Patrons will be able to read them, first. If you have any ideas for other pledge rewards for higher tiers, please PM me and I will look them over.**

 **Donation is in no way mandatory but greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.**


	28. Chapter 28

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 28: The Golden Spider**

 **O00000O00000O**

Eugene was starting to get worried. They'd been gone a while, but even if they hadn't he still would have been. At the moment, he was floating just outside the temporary hospital, keeping a watchful eye on both it and the horizon.

Eugene felt his Scroll buzz in his pocket. He answered it.

 _ **"Are they back yet?"**_ he heard Yang ask.

"No, they aren't," Eugene replied.

Eugene could practically hear the worried look form on Yang's face. When she found out Ruby had gone with them in secret she nearly ran after them herself. It took just about everyone in the room to stop her, and she still didn't stop until Eugene promised to wait for them. Hence why he had been floating in the sky and staring at a fixed point for over an hour.

 _ **"What's taking them so long?"**_

"I don't know. Problems on the ground?"

 _ **"I hope not..."**_

Eugene nodded, though he knew Yang didn't know he did. He knew he had no reason to be worried, Delsin could take care of himself and with all the other people with him, they should be fine. But even still, he didn't want to lose his friend.

At that moment, Eugene turned back to look at his spot on the horizon. And lo and behold, a Bullhead was approaching fast.

"They're back! Get Oz to the airship dock!" Eugene shouted.

He hung up and surged towards the border. Since all air traffic was grounded, the border security forces would likely fire on them on sight, and Delsin couldn't cloak something that big. The only reason they didn't get shot down the first time is that they left right as the shift changed.

Eugene raced forward, flying as fast as he could. After a minute, he got to the border. Indeed, the security forces were already locking onto the approaching Bullhead. Eugene flew past them, cloaking himself along the way. When he got close enough, he saw Delsin and Glynda standing at either of the Bullhead's doors, taking aim at the border defenses. Eugene flew up to them.

"Need a hand?" He shouted.

"Eugene?" Delsin said.

"Here, let me help," Eugene said with a smile, "Hang on to something."

Eugene flew onto the Bullhead's roof, placed a hand on it and let his power flow. The Shroud of Invisibility covered the Bullhead, hiding it from sight. On the ground, the security forces opened fire where the Bullhead was last seen, but they had already moved past them and into the city.

"Go to the Airship Dock!" Eugene said, looking down at Maria Roman as she flew the Bullhead, "Ozpin should be waiting for you there!"

"Got it!" she shouted back.

They flew off.

 **O00000O00000O**

When they landed, it wasn't Ozpin waiting for them. It was a squad of Vale Infantry Soldiers with fully automatic assault rifles pointed right at them.

"Shit!" Delsin said.

He jumped down and took aim with his Concrete and Video powers. Maria and Ruby joined him, readying themselves.

"Stand down!" the Squad Leader shouted, "By the authority of the Valean Council you are all under arrest."

"Not happening," Delsin said flatly.

Eugene hopped down in front of him.

"Hang on Delsin, cool down," he said.

"What?" Delsin said, dropping his hands.

Eugene smiled evilly.

"I got this," Eugene said.

Eugene snapped his fingers. In a flash of blue light, an entire legion of Angelic Wingmen appeared in perfect formation. Delsin looked them over, then nodded in acknowledgment as he powered himself down.

"Your move guys," Eugene said flatly.

The soldiers visibly tensed up, gripping their weapons a little tighter. Both sides stood there, each one waiting for the other to make the first move. Before the situation got any worse, Ozpin powered through the battle lines.

"That's enough, all of you!" he shouted forcefully, forcing his way between them all.

Ozpin turned to Delsin.

"Was your mission successful?" he asked sternly.

Delsin broke off his combat stance slowly and looked at the professor.

"Yeah, it was."

"Good. And your target?"

"Asleep inside," Delsin said, pointing at the Bullhead with his thumb.

"I see," Ozpin said, "Take him in. I'll have someone come to examine him."

Delsin nodded and Turned to retrieve the unconscious passenger.

"But sir!" the Squad Leader said, "By orders from the Council these people are to be arrested!"

Ozpin turned to the man who had spoken.

"Soldier, put your weapon down. These people are operating under my authority and if you or the Council has any concerns or complaints regarding their actions, you can bring them to me personally," Ozpin said.

He leaned in a bit closer and started whispering.

"And if I were being honest, if you picked a fight with those kids, you would lose. Badly."

The soldier gulped almost imperceptibly and slowly holstered his weapon. He cleared his throat.

"You heard the man!" He shouted to his squad, "Bug out!"

The soldier quickly left. Eugene relaxed and his Wingmen disappeared.

"Thank you, Professor," Glynda said.

"Yeah, thanks. That was getting bad," Fox commented.

"Well threatening them certainly didn't help," Ozpin replied, eyeing Eugene.

Eugene shrugged, a smirk on his face.

"Ow! Nora, be careful!" they heard Delsin shout.

"Sorry! He's lighter than he looks," Nora replied.

The two of them walked out of the Bullhead, carefully supporting the man between them. Eugene's breath hitched in his throat when he saw who it was.

"Is that...?" he said.

Delsin smiled and nodded.

The sight of Cole MacGrath left Eugene dumbstruck. A whirlwind of emotions ran through him with such an intensity as to leave him paralyzed. But the emotion he found himself returning to the most: Hope.

 **O00000O00000O**

About an hour later, Delsin, Eugene, Yang, George, Ozpin, and Maria were standing outside a medical examination room. Through the observation window, they could see a handful of nurses attending the reawakened Cole MacGrath as a doctor examined him. Ozpin had called his personal physician back to Beacon to perform the exam. After Delsin and Eugene explained the specifics of Conduitism to him, he got right to work.

After a moment, the doctor stepped out.

"Well, doctor? How is he?" Professor Ozpin asked.

The red-haired doctor smiled at them.

"He's severely malnourished and dehydrated, some of his muscles have atrophied, particularly those in his extremities, which is consistent with injuries sustained from lengthy captivity and confinement. But other than that he is perfectly fine. His mental faculties are functioning surprisingly well and he shows almost no psychological signs of PTSD typically associated with these situations. It's actually quite incredible," the Doctor said.

"What about his powers?" George asked, "Are they still working?"

The doctor shook his head.

"I would have no way of knowing. The genetic abnormalities in DNA and RNA for... Conduitism, was it?"

Delsin nodded.

"Well, the mutations that Conduitism causes haven't been adequately studied, and to be frank I really don't have any way to check them. Now, I can say they are working. He demonstrated them well enough when he woke up and nearly fried the heart-monitor he was connected to. As to their efficacy? I'm afraid I don't know."

George nodded somberly.

"If that's all, I'm afraid I have other patients to attend to," the Doctor said, "As always, it is good to see you Ozpin."

"And you as well Dr. Eidolos. Have a wonderful day," Ozpin said.

Dr. Eidolos nodded politely and left.

"Do we trust his assessment, Professor?" George asked.

Ozpin turned to him.

"Before he was a Doctor, even before he was a Med Student, Dr. Eidolos was known as Yfrit Eidolos, a student at Signal Combat School where he learned how to fight. His weapons of choice were always precision weapons, things designed to make small, controlled cuts in just the right place, just like a surgeon. Add that to his Semblance, which allows him to perceive any object as a 3D image in his mind with a fully detailed schematic of its internal workings, when he left Signal to go to medical school, he quickly became one of the top students there, and not long after one of the best doctors in this Kingdom,"

"So, in answer to your question, yes, I trust his assessment," Ozpin answered.

George nodded.

"So can he wake up our friends?" Yang asked.

"If it's this guy, I'm sure he can," Eugene said.

"What makes you so sure?" Maria asked.

"Because on our world, Cole MacGrath is a legend," Eugene explained.

The rest of the room looked at Eugene in mild shock.

"You mean he's from your world?" Ozpin asked.

Eugene nodded.

"Yep. He's one of the most powerful Conduits to ever live," Eugene said, "And one of the first."

The assembled people looked back into the room at the Conduit, who was making the nurses laugh hysterically. Slowly, the same hope Eugene had felt began to well inside the rest of them.

Ozpin cleared his throat.

"Mr. Rowe, could you go talk to him please?"

Delsin nodded and opened the door to the room.

 **O00000O00000O**

Cole saw the door to his room open out of the corner of his eye. One of the kids who rescued him walked in, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember the kid's name.

"Excuse me," the kid said to the nurses, "Could you give us a minute please?"

The nurses nodded and walked out. Cole sighed.

"Damn kid, I was making progress with those two," he said, "You just _had_ to come in and screw it up, didn't you?"

The kid smiled.

"Yeah, that's me. Delsin Rowe, cock-blocker extraordinaire," Delsin joked back.

Cole smirked.

"So, kid. What brings you here?" Cole asked.

Delsin sat back in his chair.

"I'm here to ask you some questions."

Cole raised an eyebrow.

"You don't look like any interrogator I've met."

Delsin smirked

"I'll take that as a compliment," He said, "But this is... oh, what's the word... Ah! A debrief, not an interrogation."

"Ok, then. Shoot."

"Ok, do you know where you are?" Delsin asked.

"Umm, in a hospital?" Cole replied slyly, gesturing to his surroundings.

"Yeah, but like, do you know where the hospital is?" Delsin pressed, "Do you know anything else about where you are?"

Cole searched back into his memories but found surprisingly little.

"Earth?"

Delsin shook his head.

"Oh boy," Delsin said, with a sigh, "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

 **O00000O00000O**

Meanwhile, just after Delsin walked into the room, Eugene walked out of the building. It was just too much to take in all at once. And no one could blame him. Cole MacGrath was Eugene's hero. When he was a kid, Eugene and his parents took a trip to New Marais. It was just before the Blast in Empire City (and as was later revealed to him the Blast in New Marais as well) when the city was still a fun tourist destination. It was day three of their trip when things went to hell. Word of the Blast spread like wildfire, but no one in New Marais heard about it until later.

The Militia quickly took control of the city and blockaded all points of entry and exit, leaving Eugene and his parents trapped in the city. At first, it wasn't too bad. The Militia was just trying to keep the peace. But that didn't last long.

Once they started rounding up "deviants," things got much worse. Protection rackets and excessive use of force weren't even the worst things, or so he heard his parents say. But though they managed to hide him from the worst of it, Eugene knew more than he let on. He was eleven, not blind.

And then, Cole showed up.

Almost overnight things got better. Oh, the militia did their best to vilify him, but Eugene read comic books, so he knew a superhero when he saw one. And when he saw Cole drop lightning bolts on Militiamen and heal anyone he might have injured in the crossfire, oh boy did he see one.

And when he died to activate the RFI? Eugene was there to mourn his hero.

So to see that hero alive again? He was ecstatic. But that elation combined with the despair he still felt, the hope of seeing his friends wake up soon, the fear of knowing they might not, the unease of not knowing who set off the Blast or even had access to that technology a whole universe away, leaving him so confused he could barely think straight.

Yang appeared next to him. While she didn't know the specifics of what was troubling him, Yang, being the big sister that she was (even though Eugene was technically older than her), knew when someone needed help and exactly how to help them. And right now, Eugene needed something to do.

"Hey," she said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "You busy?"

"You need something?" he said, practically on auto-pilot.

"Yeah," Yang said with a nod, "I was hoping you could start teaching me how to use these new powers?"

Eugene turned to her.

"You want _me_ to teach you?" he asked.

"Well yeah. You've been a Conduit longer than me and you're the only one here who has actual training using them, so I figured you're probably the best one to ask."

Eugene nodded, the solidity of her logic a welcome calm to the storm in his heart. He stood up.

"We'll need an open space to practice," he said.

Yang thought about that for a moment.

"I get to pick where we train, right?"

Eugene nodded.

"Then take me into the city. The Blast-site," Yang said unflinchingly.

Eugene just stared at her.

"No one's there, it's a great place to practice acrobatic combat maneuvers and there is no way in hell I can make it any worse if I destroy stuff with my powers," Yang said.

Eugene was hesitant to accept this, even if her logic was sound. That is until she made one more point.

"And there, I'll be more motivated to get it right," she said.

Eugene nodded, knowing her tone invited no further argument. Plus, she was still right.

"Ok," he said as he stood up, "let's go."

Yang nodded and the two of them left.

 **O00000O00000O**

The remnants of downtown Vale were in much the same condition they were in when the two of them were there last. Lots of rubble, heaps of destroyed buildings, a couple crashed Bullheads... everything you would need for a training area that Eugene had to admit was pretty much perfect.

The two of them had arrived in what was left of the town square, the exact spot where they had been fighting before the Blast, and started training. Surprisingly enough, Yang got a handle on the basics pretty quick. Not as fast as Delsin did, but definitely faster than most nascent Conduits. Though to be fair, she had destroyed a lot of things too in pursuit of learning those basics.

Yang fired another blast of Iron Shrapnel at a little target Eugene had projected with his own powers. But, the force of the attack threw off her aim, destroying yet another of a somewhat substantial series of ruined walls. To her credit, Yang had managed to hit the target a few times, but the number of misses greatly outweighed the hits.

"Dang it! The recoil is so hard to compensate for!" Yang complained.

"Well, like you said, at least this place is empty so we don't have to worry too much about the giant piles of rubble you're making," Eugene retorted.

Yang glared daggers at him, and given the nature of her powers, Eugene was almost worried actual daggers would fly out and stab him.

"Here, let's try something," Eugene said.

He stepped forward into the firing line.

"See, the recoil from a basic Conduit attack is proportional to the surface area of where you are projecting it. Watch."

Eugene raised an arm and fired a Video Torrent at the target. Now, his aim was better, so he actually hit the target. But, as Yang saw, he hit all over it.

"So if we shrink the projection surface..."

Eugene closed his hand into a finger pistol and fired three shots. Three perfect bulls-eyes. He made a show of blowing off his fingertips like he was cooling down an old revolver.

"Wow," Yang said, genuinely surprised by his aim

"See?" Eugene said, "Now you try."

Eugene stepped back and let her return to the firing line. Yang made her finger pistol and took aim. She fired one quick shot at the target.

And hit it just off-center.

"Ha ha!" she yelled, pumping her fist in triumph.

"Good!" Eugene complimented, "You're making progress. Now just keep practicing that, and we'll work your way up to larger and larger projectiles."

Yang nodded.

The two of them kept going for a few hours. Yang made excellent progress in day one of training, and so, after a while, they decided to head back to Beacon.

Eugene took to the sky and summoned a small vehicle for Yang to ride on so she could keep up. A close inspection would reveal it to be a Black Chocobo from Final Fantasy 5. It took her a moment to learn the controls, but after she did it was pretty easy.

"This. Is. AWESOME!" Yang shouted, doing a whole host of trick flying techniques.

"Careful! The construct isn't super durable!" Eugene shouted, "You're gonna break it!"

"Oh, don't worry!" Yang said back, "It'll be fine!"

And then, as she tried one more fancy flying maneuver, the Chocobo broke and she fell.

"Yang!" he shouted as she fell.

He bolted to her, flying downward at his top speed. Yang couldn't fly, and she had left her Ember Celica back at Beacon since she felt she didn't need them, so she was maneuvering desperately to make sure she didn't die on impact.

"I'm coming!" Eugene shouted.

But, it was too late. Yang was falling faster than him and closing on the ground fast. She crashed into the ground with an audible _ **"SMASH!"**_ A dust cloud formed where she hit the ground and Eugene landed.

"Yang!" he shouted, "Are you ok?!"

"Yeah!" she said, coughing on the dust, "Yeah, I'm fine!"

Eugene raised an eyebrow. He raised an arm and built a large fan with his powers, one that was taller than he was. He swept it side to side, blowing the dust cloud away.

"Um, Yang? Look down," Eugene said, sounding a little nervous

"Hm?" Yang asked, "At what?"

She looked down and immediately saw what Eugene was talking about. Her entire body, head to toe and even her clothes, was encased in Iron. She was amazed she could still move, but she could, like nothing had changed. Slowly, the metal began to fade, returning her to normal.

"Whoa," she said in awe as her normal skin returned, "That's so cool!"

Eugene laughed uncertainly for a moment.

"Yeah," he said, "It is."

He helped her to her feet and looked at the cracked concrete walkway she landed on.

"Wow, I really did a number on that, didn't I?" she said.

"Well that's what happened when a solid block of metal crashes into the ground at thirty miles an hour," Eugene said.

He patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, I'll get Delsin to come out here and fix it later," he said, "C'mon, let's _walk_ back."

"What, no flying?" Yang asked sarcastically.

"Not a chance."

The two of them had just started walking back to Beacon when they heard something. In the alley next to them was a woman, sobbing. Eugene froze; such things were well outside his realm of expertise. Yang patted him on the back and walked over to her.

"Hey," she said gently, "Are you ok? What happened?"

"I don't know," the woman said over her sobs, "I was walking down the street when heard someone crying. I turned down here to see what was wrong, but then..."

She held up her hands. Yang and Eugene gasped silently. Most of her forearms, including her hands, were burnt in a crisscross pattern. It didn't look too bad, at least, it was nothing that wouldn't heal with time, but nothing Eugene could think of caused a burn in that pattern. Thinking back, the burns themselves looked like the pictures he'd seen in his High school History Class about survivors of napalm attacks, but the pattern was still confusing.

 _"Unless..."_ he thought.

"I'll call you an ambulance, ok?" Yang said encouragingly, "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

The woman nodded. Yang pulled out her Scroll and made the call. When she was done, Eugene got her attention.

"Yang, did see the pattern on her arms?" he asked.

"Not really. Why?"

Eugene looked at the woman, then lowered his voice.

"I think she was attacked by a Conduit."

Yang's head snapped to attention.

"What?"

"Those burns aren't from anything natural. There is no weapon on this planet or mine that leaves markings in that kind of pattern, and no Dust will either-"

"Which means someone was controlling the fire that burned her," Yang said.

Eugene nodded.

"Think you can get a description of her attacker?" he asked.

"I can try. She's pretty shaken up."

"Do it," Eugene said.

 **O00000O00000O**

After Yang got the description and the Ambulance arrived, the two of them got to work tracking their target down. The girl they were looking for was slim with pale blonde hair and wearing a black jacket. That was as much as their source could remember, though no one blamed her.

"So, where should we start looking?" Eugene asked.

Yang considered that for a moment.

"Well, the attack was only an hour ago, so she couldn't have gotten _too_ far."

"True," Eugene said.

Yang stopped.

"Wait, what if she didn't mean to attack that lady?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"Well, if she's a new Conduit like you said, she probably doesn't know how to control her powers. Maybe if we can find burns around the city with a similar pattern, we can follow them to find her," Yang explained.

Eugene nodded.

"Ok then. Let's get to work," he said.

Starting from where they found the woman in the alley, it wasn't hard to find the next marker on their trail. Or any of the ones after that really. As Yang had thought this girl was obviously not in control of her powers. They found more of the same crisscross burn marks almost every ten feet. It was funny. The more Eugene saw of the patterns, the more they started to remind him of something, though he couldn't place exactly what.

After following the trail for about an hour, they heard police sirens in the distance.

"Something tells me that's our target," Yang said.

"Yeah, let's go," Eugene said.

 **O00000O00000O**

"Put down the weapon and place your hands behind your head!" a policeman with a megaphone shouted.

Dorado Arachne was surrounded. Behind her was an alleyway that lead to a dead-end, and in front of her was a half-circle of Vale Police Department cruisers, each one used as cover for one of many cops pointing guns at her.

"Stay back!" she shouted, raising her fire-encased hands, "I'm warning you!"

While it sounded like a threat, she did mean it sincerely. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but whatever had happened to her, she couldn't stop it. She tried to keep it under control, God knows she tried. But when she accidentally turned a wall to slag, the police were soon to follow. The fact that she was a Faunus didn't help matters. Her trait wasn't that obvious, merely a series of vein-like markings starting at her neck and proceeding down her back. Normally, she just passed them off as a nice tattoo, but the cops didn't buy it.

They cornered her only a few minutes ago, accusing her not only of melting the wall but being part of the White Fang, the people responsible for the giant crater in downtown Vale. She was looking for a way out desperately.

"This is your last warning! Put the weapon down or we will open fire!" the megaphone cop shouted again.

She wanted to. Oh, boy, did she want to, but she couldn't. Not without cutting off her hands. And who knew? With how fast she healed now, they might just grow back. She hated the thought of having to hurt them. It wasn't that she was a pacifist. Far from it, as growing up in Vacuo as a pacifist was impossible. She just didn't like to use it when it wasn't necessary. Though, from her point of view, it didn't look like she would have much choice.

She drew her right arm back and snapped it forward. A sort of gelatinous web shot forward and attached to the interior of one of the police cruisers through a not quite closed window. The second it did, the web ignited, and the car caught fire. The nearest cops ran away and dove behind other cars. Just in time too, as the fire was so hot it soon had the entire car engulfed.

"Please!" she shouted, "I don't want to hurt you! Leave me alone!"

"Open fire!" one of the cops shouted.

Dorado closed her eyes and shielded her face as the bullets started flying at her. She froze, waiting for the pain to start as the bullets pierced her pale skin. But, to her surprise, it never came. She opened her arms to see what was going on.

Before her stood a strange pair. On her right was a girl with long blonde hair cascading down to her lower back. From her stance, and the shotgun gauntlets on her wrists, Dorado knew the girl was a Huntress or at least one in training.

On her left, however, was the one she found most intriguing.

He was just a kid from what she could see. Brown hair and glasses with a well-worn red and white striped hoodie. He didn't look like he should have the confidence with which he stood, but that was likely because of the most prominent feature on his person: the sparkling wings.

Dorado had heard of the Bird Faunus from Beacon. Hell, damn near every Faunus in the Kingdom had; they were practically legendary. But this guy... he didn't fit the description at all. Not even close, which begged the question: who the hell were these guys, and why the hell were they standing between her and men with guns?

"STOP!" the boy shouted.

"We're not here to fight you!" the girl continued.

"Get out of the way kids! You don't know what you're dealing with," one of the officers said, "That freak behind you is dangerous!"

The boy smiled.

"So am I."

He snapped his fingers.

A squadron of angelic warriors burst forth from nothing in a flash of blue. Dorado's pale red eyes widened. The cops recoiled, if only a little. The angelic warriors simply stood there, swords pointed upwards like a regiment of soldiers awaiting orders.

"As we said, we are not here to fight," The boy said, "But we will."

With a flick of his hand, the warriors vanished.

"Rest assured, this young lady will be taken care of," he said, pointing at her, "If you have any questions, you can contact Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy. He'll explain everything."

The girl stepped forward.

"Now," she said, her body somehow turning to solid steel, "Get lost."

The officers packed up and left, the little display shaking them up quite a bit. Luckily there were very few civilians present to witness those events. When they were gone, the boy turned to her.

"Sorry about that," he said, "Are you alright?"

He held out a hand to her for a handshake. She recoiled from it.

"I'm fine," she said, suspicious, "But who the hell are you? And how did you do that?"

The girl shrugged.

"How do you set stuff on fire with webs?" she asked rhetorically.

Dorado's eyes widened.

"You mean..." she said, "You're like me?"

The girl nodded.

"Nice to meet you," she said, "Call me Yang."

The boy held out his hand once more.

"Eugene Sims," he said.

Gingerly, Dorado accepted the gesture.

"Dorado Arachne," she said, "Call me Rad."

 **O00000O00000O**

Cole sank into his bed.

"So... Remnant," Cole said.

"Yeah. It's a little trippy," Delsin said, "I felt weird about it too when I first got here."

"How long ago was that?" Cole asked.

Delsin shrugged.

"Coming up on a year now, I think," he said.

Cole nodded.

"So then, now that I'm all caught up," Cole said, "What's next?"

"For now, just sleep tight. You've got work to do when you recover."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Delsin looked a bit somber for a moment, but the look quickly passed and was replaced by his usual cheery look.

"Oh, just saving a couple more people and possibly the country. What could go wrong?"

Cole rolled his eyes as Delsin left.

When he was alone Cole smiled.

"It's good to be back."

 **CHAPTER END**

 **A special thanks to Youri Kloens, my first Patron and the creator of the Dr. Yfrit Eidolos, as well as TheStrangerThatCameFromNowhere who created our new character.**

 **You'll be happy to know, I have fleshed out my page on the website mentioned at the edge of the last chapter. Please, check it out.**


	29. Chapter 29

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 29: Getting Back to Work**

 **O00000O00000O**

"You sure about this?" Cole asked as he stood over Pyrrha's unconscious body.

Delsin stood next to him and nodded.

"Pretty sure," Delsin said.

Cole turned to him.

"'Pretty sure?'"

"Hey, no one's ever done this before! Cut me some slack!"

Cole rolled his eyes. He sighed and rubbed his hands together.

"Stand back," he said.

Delsin took several steps back to stand by everyone else who was still awake, all of whom were watching in anticipation.

Cole looked at his hands. After he had been taken to a power station to recharge, he felt rejuvenated. It was the first time he'd been fully charged in a long time. Small sparks leaped from his hands and though he was nervous, he couldn't help but smile.

He cranked up the power. The sparks turned to small bolts, and the electronics around him started flickering.

"Whenever you're ready, Mr. MacGrath," Dr. Eidolos said.

Cole nodded.

Gently, he placed his hands on Pyrrha's heart and forehead. When he made contact, he began to slowly release electricity into her. Dr. Eidolos watched as the EKG machine began to beep ever so slightly faster. They would have attached electrodes to her head to see if her brain activity was picking up, but Cole would have destroyed them the moment the procedure started.

Over the next few minutes, Cole steadily increased the pace and Pyrrha's heart began picking up speed. He was sweating from the strain, obviously not used to using his powers like this.

"You ok?" he heard a girl ask.

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth.

Electricity began sparking off his arms. Delsin took a step forward, readying himself in case something went wrong.

Dr. Eidolos's eyes were stuck on the heart monitor. Once it reached a certain point, he shouted.

"Stop!" he called.

Cole dropped his hands and slumped back into a chair, spent. Jaune ran forward to her side and Dr. Eidolos approached alongside him, placing a hand on Pyrrha's forehead, activating his semblance. As he infused his own aura into the girl to do so, his face slowly turned into a happy smile.

"Well, doctor?" Ozpin asked.

Dr. Eidolos turned around.

"She's going to be just fine," he said jubilantly.

The onlookers let out their collectively held breath in relief. Jaune nearly started crying.

"Now it'll be a day or two before she's up and about. Her body needs to recover, after all," he continued, "But after that, she'll be just fine."

Cole smiled as he panted in exhaustion.

"Great," he said, "How many more are there?"

"Ten," Delsin said, clapping his hands on Cole's shoulders.

Cole sighed.

"Great."

 **O00000O00000O**

It took Cole nearly six hours to finish bringing all of the comatose people back. They were still unconscious, but as the good doctor said on his way out, they would all be awake in a few days. As everyone else was abuzz with joy knowing their friends were only a few days away from being back to them, Cole himself was sitting down away from it all, trying to recoup himself. His muscles were still recuperating from what was apparently eight years of confinement, and using his powers the way he had been hadn't helped matters much.

"Thirsty?" he heard a voice ask.

Cole looked up. An older man with short gray hair and brown eyes was standing in front of him, holding out a cup of coffee. Cole took it and took a gulp, the caffeine returning him to some semblance of normal. The man sat down next to him.

"So, you'd be Ozpin then?" Cole asked, putting down the cup.

"Indeed I am. I take it Mr. Rowe told you about me?"

Cole nodded.

"He seems like a good kid."

Ozpin smiled.

"Oh, most of the time he is, but sometimes..." Ozpin said, "Well, let's just say he is exactly as impulsive as you would expect of someone his age. Or ten years his junior."

Cole smiled.

"Yeah, Conduit powers don't exactly help with that," Cole said.

"I would imagine not," Ozpin said with a small chuckle.

"So what do you want, teach?" Cole asked.

Ozpin's tone grew serious.

"I was wondering if you remember anything from your captivity," he said.

Cole shook his head.

"Nope. I get fragments, here and there but before I can make any sense of them,"

He snapped.

"Poof! They're gone."

Ozpin nodded.

"And do you remember how you came to be here?"

Cole just stared, his eyes fixating on the back wall.

"Can we... do you mind if we don't talk about this right now?" Cole said, "It's just... the whole new world thing... it's a lot to take in. And that's coming from a guy who woke up in a smoldering crater to find he could shoot lightning bolts from his hands."

Ozpin nodded.

"I understand," he said gently.

As he was about to get up, Ozpin had an idea.

"Well, if you can't talk about that, perhaps something more routine would help?"

Cole raised an eyebrow.

"Come to my office in about an hour," Ozpin said as he stood up, "We'll talk then."

Cole watched as Ozpin left, not sure what the man was talking about. But, he had to admit, Oz was right. Something routine would be very helpful to center him.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin made his way back to the Team CNDT dorm room and crashed face first into his bed. It had been over a week since anyone had been here. While Delsin was enormously happy that his friends would be awake in a few days, it had been almost that long since he'd had a good nights sleep. As such he passed out almost the second his face hit the pillow.

About an hour later, he was rudely awakened by someone clearing their throat.

"Mmmmm," he groaned.

Blearily, he opened his eyes, inches away from obliterating the person foolish enough to steal his precious nap time from him. When he sort of made out Eugene's form, he glared at him, his face still half smothered by the pillow it was buried in.

"You have ten seconds to give me a reason to wake up before I start blasting," he said.

"New Conduit," Eugene said, a knowing smirk on his face.

Delsin sighed in defeat, then propped himself up on his hands as he made his way to a sitting position.

"Where?" Delsin asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Outside. She's... not comfortable with indoors yet," Eugene said, "You'll see."

Delsin nodded. Still feeling tired, and not at all ready to use stairs Delsin opened the window and jumped out. He landed safely, if a little roughly, and Eugene followed him down, landing gracefully with his wings.

Delsin rolled his eyes as Eugene lead him around the building to the front door. As they rounded the corner, Delsin saw her. She was pacing back and forth in front of the door, obviously nervous.

"Who is she?"

"Dorado Arachne," Eugene answered, "I met her yesterday as she was about to get arrested by the VPD."

"VPD?"

"Vale Police Department. They had her surrounded, thinking she was with the White Fang. Apparently, she's a Spider Faunus and when witnesses saw her melt a wall with her bare hands... things didn't go well."

"Wouldn't think so," Delsin replied.

Delsin walked up to her.

"Dorado Arachne?" he said.

The girl jumped and turned to face him, taking up a combat stance.

"Who are you?" she said.

Delsin unconsciously tensed up and readied himself for a fight.

"Wait!" Eugene shouted as he burst around the corner, "He's with me! The guy I wanted you to meet!"

The two of them visibly relaxed.

"Sorry about that," she said sincerely, "I'm a little jumpy."

"No worries," he said, "I'm assuming you're the new girl?"

The girl nodded.

"Call me Rad," she said, holding out her hand.

"You don't wanna do that," Delsin said calmly, turning down the handshake.

"Oh?" she asked, her eyebrow twitching in anger.

"Whenever I touch a Conduit I copy their powers. It's... not a fun time for anyone," Delsin explained.

Eugene nodded in agreement.

"He's not wrong. My head was pounding for _days_."

Rad nodded as she dropped her hand.

"So... Eugene says you can help me control this?" Rad said, raising her hands.

Delsin watched as the girl's hands filled with liquid. His eyes widened a moment later when they exploded into flame.

He smiled.

"Oh yeah. I can help."

At that moment, his Scroll buzzed.

"Uh, hold that thought," he said, pulling it out. Ozpin was calling.

He clicked to receive the call.

"What is it Oz?" he asked, a little miffed.

 _ **"I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?"**_ Ozpin asked.

"Oh, no. Just met a new Conduit from outside of Beacon and I'm about to try and teach her how to use her new and super dangerous powers that let her melt walls and buildings into slag without half trying, so I'm not busy at all," Delsin replied sarcastically, "How's _your_ day been?"

For a moment, Ozpin was silent on the other end of the phone.

 _ **"My day has been excellent, thank you for asking! Well, since you aren't busy, can you come by my office for a moment, please?"**_

Delsin could hear the playful acknowledgment in Ozpin's voice as he groaned inwardly.

"Fine," Delsin said, "I'm on my way."

 _ **"Wonderful!"**_

Delsin ended the call.

"Seems like I'll have to come back to this," he said with a sigh, "Just stay with Eugene for now."

"Ok."

"Eugene, keep an eye on her."

Eugene nodded.

"Great, see you in a bit."

With that, Delsin turned away and Neon Dashed off.

 **O00000O00000O**

As none of his new powers allowed him to pass through solid objects and Ozpin had made him promise to stop breaking the windows in his office, Delsin elected to use the elevator for once. As he approached the sliding doors of Oz's express elevator, Cole walked up alongside him.

"MacGrath," Delsin said.

"Rowe," Cole replied.

The doors opened and the two of them entered in identical fashion, then turned to face the doors as they closed.

"Any idea what the big man wants?" Cole asked.

Delsin shrugged.

"I gave up trying to figure him out after the first ten minutes," he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I got that idea too," Cole said in agreement, "It's like he pretends he's an open book, but when you try and read it, turns out it's written in... like, Hieroglyphics or something."

"I know right?" Delsin said.

"Meh. Better things to do I suppose," Cole said.

Delsin raised a playful eyebrow.

"Like what?"

Cole opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came to mind. Only when he saw the smirk on Delsin's face did he realize the trap he had stepped in.

"Shut up," he said.

Delsin's smirk developed into a grin as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

"Ah, you're both here. Good," Ozpin said.

Delsin looked at him quizzically.

"Looks like someone's a lot more upbeat than normal," Delsin commented.

"I'm simply stopping to smell the roses, as it were," Ozpin replied, "There have been plenty of negative occurrences lately, so a good one is a welcome one. This one in particular, very welcome."

Ozpin turned to Cole.

"As such, I would like to say thank you once again, Mr. MacGrath," he continued, bowing his head slightly.

"Please, just call me Cole," the man replied.

"Cole it is," Ozpin said in his uncharacteristically jovial tone.

"So why is it you called us here?" Delsin asked.

"Ah! I was wondering when we'd get to that. Please, sit."

He motioned them to the chairs in front of them, and they sat down, Oz doing the same on the other side of the desk.

"So, as you are no doubt aware, we have a swathe of new Conduits," Ozpin said, some of the joviality leaving his tone, "And none of them know how to control their powers. In fact, I believe there is yet another who fits that bill, isn't that right Mr. Rowe?"

Delsin nodded.

"Yeah. Dorado Arachne, Spider Faunus. Some kind of fire-power."

"Fire?" Cole asked.

"Explosions would probably be a better word," Delsin replied, "She can make some kind of liquid and make it blow up."

"Oh yeah, those are fun," Cole said.

Delsin cocked his head.

"How would you know?"

"A friend back home had a power just like that. She was crazy, but it was a fun power."

"Cooooool," Delsin said.

"Ahem!" Ozpin coughed.

The two of them snapped back to him.

"As I was saying," Ozpin said.

He pressed a finger to his desk and dossiers of the new Conduits came up on the screen.

"Damn," Cole said, "That's a lot of people."

"Yeah, and there are probably a few more we never found," Delsin said.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, who's that guy?" he asked, pointing to one of them.

Ozpin followed his finger.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Branwen," Ozpin said, "According to Professor Goodwitch, you ran into him shortly after the Blast."

Delsin reached back through his memories until he found the guy. It was the same guy who had stayed to watch over Professors Port and Oobleck when they ran across them.

"Oooooooh, that guy," Delsin said, "So what's his shtick?"

"Bottom of the page," Cole commented.

Delsin looked down.

"Acid?" he said, "Nice."

"Indeed," Ozpin said, trying to keep the conversation on track, "And I would like you to train them."

Delsin and Cole nodded

"We were gonna do that anyway," Cole said.

"Yeah, we were just waiting to get started," Delsin continued, "Me and Eugene had a spot picked out and everything."

"Unfortunately, that is no longer the case, as Mr. Sims is needed on another matter," Ozpin interrupted, "His ability to summon a large workforce in mere moments makes him invaluable to the reconstruction effort."

He walked around to the other side of the table.

"And besides, I have a surprise for you."

He put a hand on the desk and swiped. The dossiers went off the screen replaced by what appeared to be blueprints.

"Whoa," Cole said.

"What he said," Delsin continued.

Ozpin smiled.

"I call it The Hippodrome."

He gestured to the screen and the image grew into a full 3D model of the building.

"Oh-ho-ho," Cole said, "This, is gonna be fun."

 **O00000O00000O**

Next to a recovering Weiss and Blake, Ruby and Yang were sitting happily for the first time in a long while. After a while of silence, Ruby spoke up.

"How long do you think it'll be?" she asked.

"What? Till they wake up?" Yang replied.

Ruby nodded.

"Soon, I hope," Yang said.

Yang took a casual glance over in Alex's direction. His sister was on the phone, presumably with the rest of his family, a happy stream of tears going down her face. His mother, for her part, was standing over him, watchfully keeping guard of him while smiling down at her baby boy. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Yang quickly turned away.

"Shouldn't be too long," they heard a voice behind them say.

The two of them turned to see Jaune and Nora standing at the end of Weiss and Blake's beds.

"Guys!" Ruby said, standing to give them both hugs.

"Hi Ruby," Jaune said, returning the hug.

"How's Pyrrha?" Yang asked.

"She's doing great," Jaune said, "She'll be awake this time tomorrow, so the doctor says."

"That's great!" Ruby said.

"And Ren's doing just fine," Nora said happily.

"I'm happy to hear it," Yang said with a smile.

At that moment, the cheery voice of Delsin blasted out over the PA system.

 _ **"Hey, can I get all the new Conduits could come to the new big ass building just outside the campus? We have a surprise for you!"**_

 __The PA abruptly cut out.

"What building is he talking about?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know," Yang said.

All of their Scroll's buzzed. When they checked them, there was a message containing the exact coordinates of their destination.

"Oh. Well that helps," Ruby said.

"Yeah," Nora said after glancing at the message on Jaune's Scroll, "You might as well get going then."

"You're not coming?" Ruby asked.

Nora shook her head, holding up a message-free Scroll.

"Nope."

"Aww. Well, let's go," Ruby said.

She started walking to the door, not noticing that Yang and Jaune hadn't moved. Their eyes were locked onto Alex and Pyrrha respectively, expressions of reluctance on their faces.

"Don't worry," Nora said, "I'll let you know the second anything changes."

She shoved them both toward the door.

"Now get going already!" she said, smiling playfully.

The two of them nodded and smiled back as they fell in behind Ruby, and joined the rest of the Conduits as the exited the building.

 **O00000O00000O**

The New Conduits arrived at the coordinates to find a huge arena had popped up seemingly out of nowhere.

"Whoa," Ruby gasped, "Where did this place come from?!"

"Yeah, this place is huge!" Jaune said, craning his neck to take it all in.

"A mystery indeed," George commented, "It would take months to build something like this."

"Well, it _is_ Professor Ozpin," Velvet said, "Who here believes he _couldn't_ keep something like this a secret?"

"You are not wrong Ms. Scarlatina," Glynda said.

The students simply nodded.

"Guess everyone's here then!" a voice said from above them.

Moments later, Cole and Delsin landed in front of them. Most of the students rolled their eyes at the needless drama but smiled anyway.

"Let's get to work," Cole said, "Welcome... to the Thunderdome!"

With an off-hand Kinetic Pulse, Cole forced the doors open. From what they could see, the inside of the arena-like structure was just as big as it appeared from the outside. As they walked inside, they got the first good look at the facility.

The place was filled with assembled training dummies, piles of raw material for the abilities of the present Conduits, and Video screens with a setup identical to that of the sparring arena. There was even an obstacle course at the far end.

"Wow," George said as he walked in, "This place really is incredible."

"Seriously? Thunderdome?" They heard Delsin whisper behind them.

"What? It's a cool name," Cole replied, "And besides, I don't remember what that Oz guy called it."

"Eh, fair enough," Delsin said.

"Delsin!" Ruby shouted, "What _is_ this place?"

The two Conduits turned their attention back to the group.

"Well, you guys have superpowers now, and no idea how to control them. Or use them much at all," Delsin said.

"So, Oz the Great and Powerful wanted us to teach you," Cole continued.

"Not that we weren't already going to, but hey, whatever works," Delsin added, "Anyway, we needed a safe place to do it, so he had this place made for us."

"Over there on the far wall we have the Advanced Movement Course," Cole started, "Which is designed to teach you how to move like we do. In other words, exactly what you think it is."

"And each of you will have a little training area where you can blast all you want to try and get a feel for attacking with them. The dummies are made of concrete so I can repair them. Just have fun," Delsin said.

"So we can just... destroy stuff to our heart's content?" Jaune asked.

"Pretty much," Cole said, "There's enough extra ammo back there for you to use your powers for the next month. Well, except for you."

"Me?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, I was meaning to talk to you about that. Come talk to me when we're done here," Cole said.

The rest of the New Conduits gave him strange looks to which all he could do was shrug.

"Now before we get started, I have one more surprise," Delsin said.

He turned around back to the entrance.

"Hey, newbie!" he shouted, "C'mon out here!"

Out of nowhere, another figure dropped down in front of them. She was about 5'6", with pale blonde hair, pale red eyes, and well-tanned skin. She was wearing a plain black tank-top and some faded black jeans that looked like they had seen a great deal of wear. A black jacket was tied around her waist, and she waved at them.

"'Sup?" she said.

"Hi!" Ruby said as she waved back enthusiastically.

"Everybody, this is Dorado Arachne," Delsin said, "Dorado, this is everyone."

"Call me Rad," she said, holding out a hand. Ruby shook it gladly, as did everyone else.

"Well then," Cole said, "If that's everything, let's get started! Jaune?"

The blonde boy nodded and walked away with Cole. Delsin stepped forward.

"Alright! Everybody to the Obstacle Course!" Delsin said.

 **O00000O00000O**

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" Jaune asked.

"Did Delsin tell you how your powers work?" Cole asked.

"You mean the Telekinesis? Pretty much," Jaune replied, "Just moving objects right?"

"Ok, but did he tell you everything?" he asked.

"I'm gonna guess no..."

"Well, do you know what you drain when you need to recharge?" Cole asked.

Jaune was about to answer when he realized he didn't.

"Now that you mention it, no. What?" Jaune asked.

"Let me show you," Cole said.

He took Jaune's hand and placed it on his forehead.

"Try draining," he said.

"Uh, ok... how exactly?" Jaune asked.

"Just take a deep breath," Cole said, "It'll come."

Jaune did as instructed. The second he began to inhale, he felt the power rush in. Then, abruptly, he felt the rush stop.

"Whoa," he gasped, "Was that it?"

He looked back at Cole and saw the man doubled over and wheezing. His breath was ragged and hoarse like he had just run a marathon in ten seconds.

"What happened?!" Jaune asked.

"A demonstration," Cole explained, "What could happen when you drain from a normal person."

Jaune took a step back.

"Wait, so you mean..." He started, "I get power from _people?!"_

"Sort of," Cole said, "You drain bio-electricity."

Jaune was freaking out. He looked at his hands and started hyperventilating.

"Don't worry," Cole said gently, "That's why I called you over here. See, that's what happens when you drain too much too fast. So I'm going to teach you how to control it so you won't do it by accident. Take a deep breath."

Jaune took a breath. Then another. After the third, he started to calm down.

"You gonna be alright?" Cole asked.

"Yeah," he said, "Yeah, I'm ok."

"Alright then," Cole said, a smirk growing on his face, "Let's get to work."

 **O00000O00000O**

"HAH!" Cinder shouted as she launched another fireball at her latest practice dummy.

The armored straw-man went up in smoke when the ball of black and red flame collided with it, reducing it to ashes in mere moments. The remnants of several other dummies littered the floor of Torchwick's old hideout.

"Another one down," Emerald said, "That makes seventeen today."

"Good," Cinder said, "Mercury, get me another."

The grey-haired boy groaned but stood up to do what he was told. As he did, he saw something that made him stop.

"Hey," he said aloud.

"What is it Mercury," Emerald asked petulantly.

He pointed and both of the ladies followed his finger.

A small Grimm that's body consisted of a single perfect sphere and a series of tentacles approached them. Cinder dropped her hands and powered down.

 _"Cinder,"_ a voice said from within the orb.

"Mistress," Cinder replied, her usual haughtiness all but gone.

 _"How is your training coming along?"_ Salem asked bluntly.

"Very well," Cinder said, "I'll have these skills mastered by the end of the week."

 _"So we are on track for the next stage of my plan?"_

"Yes Mistress, we are."

 _"Excellent. Do not fail me Cinder. You know what will happen if you do,"_ Salem said.

"Yes Mistress," Cinder repeated.

The light within the Grimm's orb went dead, signaling the end of the connection.

When the Grimm began to retreat, Cinder unleashed another fireball on the wall of the hideout.

"Bring me another!" she shouted.

 **O00000O00000O**

Cinder didn't know it, but Salem saw her outburst.

"Hmm," she said to herself as she sat upon the throne in her palace.

She had seen Cinder's reports on the Ray-Sphere's effectiveness. It truly was exactly as Bertrand had promised. But, after the report that MacGrath had been stolen from her possession, she had become slightly concerned. Cinder's emotional outburst did not help matters.

"Joseph! Augustine!" she called, her voice soft but echoing throughout the palace.

The two of them walked into Salem's throne room and bowed.

"You called, Mi'lady," Bertrand said.

"Both of you make arrangements to travel," Salem said.

"Of course Ma'am," Augustine said, "Where are we heading?"

"Just make the arrangements. I will inform you if you need to go," Salem said.

The two of them nodded and left, just as quickly as they came. Salem slowly glided towards one of the rooms windows.

 _"I have waited so long for this day to come,"_ she thought, _"This plan_ cannot _fail."_

 **CHAPTER END**

 **I'm just gonna admit it, this chapter... probably not my best work. When I get around to finishing this story and doing a page one edit, this one will be largely rewritten. And believe me, I tried very hard to get this done. But between an absolutely hellish workweek, as well as both my cousin and uncle being hospitalized within two days of one another (for appendicitis and kidney cancer respectively, all prayers welcome and appreciated) I lost a great deal of my writing time. As such, this chapter kind of took a hit. If it feels rushed, that's probably why.**

 **On another entirely unrelated note, I have to ask, do you guys find my jokes funny? I mean, I know this fic isn't a comedy, but no one has ever actually made a comment on the jokes I try to sprinkle where I can. Am I just not funny or do you guys ignore them? Please, let me know.**


	30. Chapter 30

**O00000O00000O**

 **Chapter 30: Moving Forward**

 **O00000O00000O**

 **I LIVE!**

 **Seriously, I'm so sorry for the wait everybody. I really did try to write, but my uncle's death really threw off my groove. And then, right when I started getting back to normal, I fell into a deep fanfiction hole for the Arrowverse Fandom from which I still have found no escape. That said, anybody reading this who is interested, I now have several dozen new Fanfic recommendations for that Fandom.**

 **Now that that's out of the way, may I present the long-awaited Chapter 30.**

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin stood in the center of the Thunderdome, tapping away on the tablet linked to the structure's jumbotron-esque display on the rear wall, much like the one in the training arena. He turned to his students, all of the new conduits except Jaune, who Cole had taken to training personally.

"Alright guys," he said, "Rules are simple."

He pressed one more time on his tablet. Six images, one of Delsin, and one for each of the others, Rad, Glynda, Yang, George, and Velvet, popped up on the screen, each one with their own Aura gauge.

"All six of you versus me. No weapons, just powers. First to knock out the other team's Aura wins. Once your Aura falls in the red, you can leave the arena and go sit with the peanut gallery," he said, motioning to their audience.

In the stands sat Ruby, Johnathan, Alex, Dr. Oobleck, Fox, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Nora, Ren, and Blake. After she woke, Weiss spent a few days getting back to normal and went on to do solo training for the fast Approaching Vytal Festival tournament. Pyrrha had a similar idea, though it had been noticed that she and Jaune were often gone around the same time. As for the parents of the formerly comatose kids, most of them had gone home after their kids were awake. Alex's family had decided to stick around to watch the tournament, and while he couldn't see her, Delsin was sure that Maria was somewhere close by.

"Go get him, Georgie!" Johnathan shouted.

"Kick his butt, Yang!" Ruby added.

"You got this Velvet!" team CFVY shouted in unison.

Delsin smirked.

"Any questions?"

"What do we win?" Rad asked.

"A day off from training tomorrow," Delsin said.

All of the students instantly moved into fighting stances. Delsin was surprisingly strict in his training, running them like a military Boot Camp from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM every day and always leaving them sore. Even George and Glynda, veteran Huntsman and Huntress though they were, found the regimen grueling. As he saw them shift, Delsin smiled.

"No more questions?" he said with a grin, "Alright then. Go!"

Without missing a beat, Yang and Rad charged at him as the rest spread out to surround him. To their eyes, Delsin simply stood there and let them come. But, when they got within striking distance, his form glitched and blue pixels shimmered around it. As the two girls tried to strike it, Yang with her fist and Rad with her foot, they simply passed right through it, stumbling onto the ground behind it.

The image flickered once more as it turned and smirked at them.

"Come on, you can do better than that," the image said using a hollow imitation of Delsin's voice, "Remember, think like a Conduit."

The hologram exploded into pixels, blasting the two girls back. Yang turned to Iron and managed to use the explosion's force to roll herself into a standing position. Rad did a similar maneuver and used some of her napalm to counteract the force and stop her travel short.

"Muuuch better," Delsin heckled.

The girls swiveled to find that Delsin was already outside of the formation the team had set up. Without missing a beat, Glynda stomped a foot and a wave of frozen spikes raced towards him. Delsin's smirk didn't waver as he activated Velvet's Sound Dash. He started ping-ponging off of the spikes, his body now surrounded by concussive sound-waves to propel him forward. At the end of the wave, he launched himself into the air behind her.

"Tsk tsk tsk, remember Glynda, big attacks leave you vulnerable to big counterattacks," Delsin goaded, "Let me show you!"

With that, he released a major concussive blast. The Ice behind her shattered and Glynda covered her ears as they began to bleed. The damage was nothing her Conduit Healing couldn't fix, but it hurt a lot and brought her Aura all the way down to 40. But, behind her obvious pain, Delsin missed the small grin that was forming.

"That was very educational," an accented voice said from above him.

Delsin felt the sound from his attack fading fast. He craned his neck to see Velvet floating above him, a devious smile on her face.

 _"Oh shit,"_ Delsin thought.

"Allow me to thank you!" she said cheerfully.

With just one hand, the Rabbit Faunus unleashed Sonic Blast even bigger than the one Delsin had just used. The force of the attack slammed him downward. He braced himself for impact, but surprisingly, it didn't come.

Instead, he got kicked in the face.

"Hiiiiii!" Rad shouted as Delsin went flying backward.

Rad didn't let him fly too far though. By the time he was about ten feet away, she latched onto him with one of her napalm-webs. With both hands, she grabbed onto the web and swung it, trying to slam Delsin into the wall.

The second his foot touched the wall, Delsin took off in a Neon Dash, the web falling limp as it no longer clung to him.

"Oh no, you aren't getting off that easy," George said.

The older Huntsman placed his hand to the arena floor, his power extending outwards to the stone walls of the arena. Of all of his trainees, George was the one Delsin worried about the most. He had definitely come the furthest with his powers, in some ways even farther than Delsin had.

As his power spread, the wall began to shift under Delsin's feet. Soon after, Delsin was doing his best to spontaneously weave between spikes of brick and mortar jutting from the newly remodeled arena walls.

"Well?" George said with a grin, "Open fire!"

At his command, Yang did just that. Metal shrapnel burst from her hands and Delsin had yet another thing to dodge.

"I got him!" Rad said.

She brought her hands together and made a ball of her napalm webs between them. She swung her arms forward, flinging the ball into Delsin's path. Delsin barely managed to come to a stop as the ball exploded, the path in front of him erupting in a violent explosion.

After a moment of silence, Rad stepped forward.

"Did I get him?" she asked giddily.

"I don't think so Ms. Arachne," Glynda said, pointing at the display, "Look."

The new Conduits looked up at the screen. Delsin's Aura had indeed taken a hit...

Of all of six points.

"Not bad," they heard a voice say, "Not bad at all."

The group slowly watched as a figure emerged from the smoke. It looked like a man made of concrete, except that where the openings in the concrete armor normally would have been, there were instead Iron reinforcements. The figure put his fist in his hand and stretched his neck, making a sound of crunching boulders.

"I might actually have to start trying," Delsin said.

 **O00000O00000O**

On the other side of the campus, Jaune was in the school scrapyard. It wasn't very big; truthfully it didn't need to be as Vale had wonderful recycling infrastructure. However, It was where Eugene had been dumping all of the debris from the Ray-Sphere Blast. In fact, a few of his Wingmen had dropped off more not too long ago.

"Okay," Cole said, "You ready kid?"

Jaune nodded, "Yes sir."

"Kid, don't call me sir. I've said that" Cole replied.

"Sorry, si- sorry."

"Ok, now. Try again."

Jaune raised a hand. In front of him was a boulder, one he had been working towards moving for the last week. He had made good progress, actually. At first, he couldn't move anything weighing more than a few pounds, but under Cole's tutelage, he had quickly shattered that limit and all that followed. As he closed his eyes, the rock was surrounded by a succession of faded purple waves. Jaune strained as if he were physically picking up the boulder.

And slowly, it rose.

Only a few inches, but it rose all the same. Jaune held it for as long as he could before his powers gave out. The boulder dropped to the ground as Jaune doubled over in exhaustion.

"17 seconds," Cole said, "Not bad, kid."

"Thanks," Jaune said breathlessly.

"You ok?" Cole asked.

"Yeah," Jaune continued, "Just... gimme a sec."

"Here," he said, holding out a hand for his student.

Jaune looked at the offered hand.

"Are you sure?"

"Just be careful, like we practiced."

Jaune nodded and grabbed Cole's hand. As he did, he drew a picture in his mind of a small cup. Next to the cup was a pitcher of water, and very gently, Jaune focused on the pitcher of water pouring lightly into the cup. As he did, he felt his fatigue fade away and his new powers slowly return. It was a visual exercise he and Cole had worked on so Jaune could recharge his powers safely.

As his powers required the use of neuroelectricity as fuel, Jaune was a special case. If he drained too much too fast, he could kill someone. Cole, having more than double the neuroelectricity of most, was at a greatly reduced risk of that happening, hence why he was training Jaune privately.

When Jaune felt he was full, he let go.

"Very good," Cole said, "I barely felt it that time."

"You sure? I didn't take too much?"

"Nope, you did fine. Just remember to keep it light and you should be good."

Jaune sighed in relief.

"Alright. Now that that's done, I think we should try something new," Cole continued.

Jaune raised his head. "Wha-"

Before he could finish, he found himself on his back ten feet away. He looked up to see Cole standing in a combat stance, lightning sparking over his hand.

"Combat training."

 **O00000O00000O**

Back in the Thunderdome, the fight continued. Glynda was the first out. Powerful and experienced Huntress though she was, she just couldn't seem to get her Conduit powers to work the way she wanted them. Delsin had a few thoughts about that, but he had to tuck them away until after the fight.

George went down next. During training, he had taken to his powers substantially better than any of the others. As such, Delsin had spent a great deal of energy into taking him down. Unfortunately, doing so left him vulnerable to attacks from the rest of his students

After about twenty minutes they had managed to get his Aura down to 70. He had to give them credit; it was way more than he'd thought they would do. With a quick glance to the monitor, he made a note of their Aura levels. Velvet was the lowest, coming in at 54. Rad was above her at 72, and Yang topped them all at 80.

As he filed that information away, he barely avoided dodging Rad's latest attack. She was getting fast with her napalm balls.

"Dammit!" she shouted, "I thought I had him that time!"

"He's too fast," Yang said as Delsin's returned volley of ice shards broke against her Iron skin.

Velvet jumped in front of them and let out a wide-angle low-power sound attack. A concrete covered Delsin had just stopped to attack them again, only to be stunned by Velvet's attack.

"Someone grab him!" she shouted.

Rad grinned widely. "On it!"

The lithe girl spread her hands behind her and filled them with napalm. With a thought, she ignited them, the explosive force propelling her forward. Delsin braced for her impact, but instead, she rolled between his legs and sprung up behind him. She jumped on his back, and snaked her limbs around him, locking him in place.

Before he could respond Yang fired. He barely managed to dodge another volley of Iron shrapnel, the metal shards grazing his shoulder as Velvet stepped up her attack.

 _"Finally,"_ he thought, _"They're thinking like Conduits."_

Delsin shifted into his Smoke power and Dashed away, slipping free from Rad's hold. But, the girl stuck close, rushing after and bringing a low kick against Delsin's mid-section. The force was enough to stun him as both Yang and Velvet followed up with combined attacks.

The combined force threw him back as his Aura fell to 58. Rad snapped out a napalm-web and yanked him back towards her. She drew back her arm to punch him, missing the smirk on Delsin's face.

When he drew to a stop, he Smoke Dashed behind her and threw a close-range Cinder Missile at her undefended back. Her already low Aura broke under the attack and the digital announcer rang out "Dorado Arachne is unable to continue."

"Not bad," he said as she lay on the ground. He would have liked to give her more encouragement, but his final two opponents weren't giving him much choice. Having finally realized that Delsin's greatest strength was his mobility, Velvet had reoriented on attacks with a wide range. The overall power was low, but it made it almost impossible for Delsin to dodge them, as well as lowering his reaction time.

As he readied a counter-attack, he barely heard something land at his feet. Looking down, he saw it was a ball of Iron shrapnel. His eyes widened as he shifted back to his Concrete power and covered himself once again. The moment he did, the ball exploded, revealing a small crystal of Fire Dust at its heart. Evidently, Yang had come prepared.

Delsin's armor protected him for the most part, the shrapnel from the improvised Fragmentation Grenade, but his aura dropped down to 50. He had to re-prioritize.

At the moment, Yang was the bigger threat. She had more Aura left, impeccable defense from her Iron Body, and her attacks did the most damage. Despite that, she couldn't keep up with his maneuverability. Even with her Ember Celica propelling her, she only closed the gap a little bit.

However, with Velvet helping her, she could. Velvet's wide-angle attacks were distracting, and because the power was so spread out, he couldn't absorb it. Which meant, much to his internal chagrin, she was going to be his next target.

He shifted once again, this time to Neon and Water as they were the least affected by his opponents' powers. When Yang tried to attack again he simply Water Dashed through it, coming to a stop just in front of Velvet.

"Sorry about this part," he whispered, just loud enough that he knew she heard him.

With that, he fired a Stasis Blast. The Rabbit Faunus was catapulted into the air and Delsin laid on the attack with a Water Blast from his other hand. The blast itself was weak, but the force was enough to send Velvet's free-floating body careening into the far wall. Her Aura fell to 18 and the buzzer sounded, signaling her defeat.

Delsin immediately turned his attention to his final opponent.

"Well Yang, it's just you and me," he said.

"And pretty soon, it'll be just me," she replied.

And she charged in once again.

 **O00000O00000O**

In downtown Vale, Eugene was working tirelessly to clear the rubble.

Or, more accurately, he was sitting on a rock drinking an extra large juice-box while his thirty-something Wingmen and a team of workers moved the rubble. For the most part, the workers would break up the bigger chunks of garbage and Eugene's "friends" would pick them up and haul them to trucks so they could be taken away and recycled into fresh building materials. After a week of work, the place was mostly clear, save for a few of the bigger collapsed buildings.

"How many of those friends of yours you got floating around?" the foreman asked, he and the rest of the workers having managed to get used to Eugene's Wingmen.

"Now?" he asked. He closed his eyes briefly as he did a mental count. "37."

"Damn. How the hell do you do that?"

Eugene smiled.

"Eric, you ask me that question every day, and my answer is still the same: It's a long story," he replied.

"Well, I figure one day maybe you'll tell it to me," the older man replied, "Listen, it's about lunchtime so me and the boys were gonna go get something to eat. You wanna join us?"

"No thanks Eric, I'd like to keep working. Give my guys a chance to catch up," he said, gesturing to his 'friends.'

"Well, alright," the man said. He turned to his workers, "C'mon boys, let's get some grub!"

With that, the team of workers left as Eugene's Wingmen continued to load up the trucks. Eugene sat and watched them work. As he watched them go about their work, he began to drift off and nap peacefully as the clouds rolled by above him. A short time later he was awoken by a tap to the forehead.

He slowly blinked himself awake and looked at the source of the tap. It appeared to be a young girl, not even five feet tall. She had black hair styled with two white bows, and wore a black, sleeveless shirt with four white frills down the front, as well as a black skirt with white stripes along the seams. Her green eyes locked onto him, staring at him curiously.

Eugene stood up and faced the mystery girl.

"Ummm... Can I help you?" he asked, unsure of what to say.

The girl cocked her head sideways, then looked down at herself. She rolled her eyes in self-exasperation and Eugene watched as her clothes began to fade away.

"Oh!" he said, turning around and covering his eyes.

The girl was not impressed. She tapped his shoulder, one eyebrow raised in annoyance. Eugene turned back around, peeking between the cracks in his fingers.

"Oh," he said as he dropped his hands, "Neo, right?"

The girl nodded.

 _"What are you doing here?"_ Eugene signed, curious.

 _"I was checking on you. I felt the explosion while I was escaping and I wanted to make sure you were ok,"_ she replied.

 _"Oh. Thanks, Neo, I appreciate it."_

 _"It's not a big deal."_

Eugene smiled.

 _"Thank you. It's nice to know that even though we are technically enemies you still care,"_ he asked.

Eugene didn't notice the light blush creep onto the girl's face, but Neo certainly did. She turned her head and started signing back.

 _"Ok, guess I'll go now,"_ she signed.

She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Eugene said, grabbing her hand.

Neo froze, her body, woefully unaccustomed to physical contact, becoming rigid and unmoving. When he let go, she saw him begin signing again.

 _"Do you want to stay?"_ he asked, a hint of sadness on his face.

Before she could stop herself, Neo nodded. Eugene smiled and sat back on his little rubble-chair, clearing a spot next to him for Neo. The girl sat, leaning back into her spot. As the angels flitted about in the sky above them, Eugene sat silently, a small smile on his face. Neo looked at him, still confused by what she was doing there, never having done something like this before, not even with Torchwick.

Eventually, she relaxed a bit, deciding that just this once she was going to enjoy the moment. She slowly extended her hand, lacing her fingers in Eugene's and smiled, looking up at the sky.

 **O00000O00000O**

Delsin was confused. Yang was fighting much differently than she normally did, and it was giving him a lot of trouble. He would try and attack her with smoke, and she would dodge out of the way, even if there was no way she could have seen it coming. He tried a wide-angle attack with his Sound power to try and knock her off her feet, but she simply stood there and took it like it was nothing, not even budging.

But the strangest instance was the one happening right now. Delsin had set up a Digital Decoy, hoping to get the drop on Yang while he was invisible. Just as planned, Yang charged in to attack it. But, the moment when her Iron-clad fist would have struck the explosive decoy, it stopped short, and instead, she fired a volley of Iron shrapnel through it and landed a strike on the _real_ Delsin standing just a few feet away.

As the metal tore into him, Delsin's Shroud of Invisibility blinked out of existence and he tumbled over from the force of his own decoy exploding a few feet away.

"Yeah!" he heard Ruby shout from the stands, "You get him, Yang!"

Several more shouts from the stands rose with hers, all of them cheering for Yang. But it was when Delsin checked his Aura level (a dangerously low 25) that he figured out what was happening. Because despite all of the cheering, there was one person who remained silent, in fact, the last person he expected to remain silent.

Sitting quietly at the back of the group, a black glow silhouetting his hand, was Alex.

 _"Fan-fucking-tastic,"_ Delsin thought, _"He's helping her fight."_

Delsin locked eyes with his partner and Alex sneakily smirked at him.

"What's wrong Delsin? Feeling tired?" Yang asked mockingly.

Delsin grit his teeth as his skin knit itself back together.

"Fine, you wanna play dirty? I can work with that," he said quietly.

In an instant, he switched to his Smoke power, channeled as much of it as he could into his hands, and slammed them into the ground. Yang raised her arms in front of her face as a huge plume of sulfurous smoke erupted from the floor of the arena, covering the battleground in an impenetrable cloud of darkness. As she dropped her arms, she found she was 100% blind.

"Good luck fighting what you can't see!" Delsin called.

Yang spun around, searching for the voice.

"Yeah, well you can't see either!" she said, coaxing a response.

"True," she heard somewhere to her left, "But..."

A Concrete covered fist collided with Yang's head.

"I can still hear you."

The hit was strong, but Yang had gotten used to heavy blows and recovered quickly. She swung at where the blow came from, but her fist hit empty air. Outside the cloud of smoke, Alex grimaced as he saw Yang's Aura fall to 35.

"Y'know Yang, If this were any other fight, you'd probably beat me pretty easily. And the way you were fighting just a moment ago was even better."

In front of her, Yang saw the Smoke begin to thin, as Delsin slowly walked forward.

"But when it comes to Conduit powers?" he said, Concrete growing over his body, "You still have a lot to learn."

Yang watched as Delsin charged forward. Every instinct in her body was telling her to attack him head-on, but she pushed them aside, remembering what Delsin had said a moment ago. At the last possible second, she spun out of the way and fired another blast of Iron Shrapnel.

As the Iron shards flew into it, the Decoy Delsin shimmered out of existence.

"Very nice!" Delsin's voice said, "but remember to watch your back!"

Yang spun around just in time to see Delsin launch a Cinder Missile. She tried to dodge, but there was no way she could over the short distance, so she instead readied herself for the impact.

 **O00000O00000O**

In the stands, the crowd heard a loud _**"BOOM!"**_ as they watched Yang fly out of the smoke cloud and crash into the far wall. Everyone's eyes snapped to the scoreboard.

Delsin's Aura was still at 25, while Yang's was holding on by a thread at 21, one point away from losing.

"C'mon Yang, you can do it!" Ruby shouted.

"Teach him what it means to be a Huntress!" Weiss said.

"Take him down!" George and Johnathan shouted in unison.

Alex sighed in relief as Yang stood up from the crack in the wall. Once again he reached out to help her with his Magnetism, but he found no target. As he looked closer, he saw the Iron-Coating that once covered Yang's body was fading. He grimaced, as he realized he couldn't help her anymore.

 **O00000O00000O**

What Alex did not see, however, mostly because she was doing everything she could to hide it, was that Yang's Semblance was fully charged. She did a mental check of her abilities. Nothing. Her Conduit reserves were empty. As she stumbled back into a defensive stance, still dazed from the impact, she looked back up into the fading smoke cloud. Delsin walked out slowly, the ever-present cocky smirk on his face.

"Y'know, if the five of you together can't beat me after two weeks of almost non-stop training, I might need to step it up a bit. How's 16-hours a day instead of 12 sound, huh? 5 to 5?"

Beneath his cocky demeanor, Delsin was really proud of how well they had done. Frankly, he had only lasted this long because his powers were raising his defensive capabilities to insane levels. All kidding aside, after a few more weeks of training like they were doing now, they would be more than field ready. Well, all of them but Glynda, who just couldn't seem to get a handle on her powers.

He was taking his time moving out of his smokescreen, giving Yang a bit of extra time to get into a proper stance. He let embers trail from his fingertips as he approached; he didn't even bother to check the scoreboard.

"Well, it's just the two of us, and were both just about done."

He thumped his chest with both fists, his stance wide open.

"Gimme your best shot."

Yang held deathly still. She knew it was a trap. It had to be. And even if it wasn't, over the distance, Delsin had a clear advantage. So what was he angling for?

She internally sighed. Whether it was a trap or not, she didn't have a choice. It was either stand there and wait for him to attack, or take the initiative and maybe grasp victory. She triggered her Semblance, letting herself change. But as she did, she decided something. If she was going to walk into his trap, she was going to make him work for it

Without saying a word, Yang burst forward, using her strength to spring her close to him. Delsin smirked at her, thinking he had read her move. He pivoted his foot, and the floor beneath them cracked and splintered, forming a ring of spikes to protect him. But, to both his amazement and his pride, she did something he truly didn't expect.

He had expected her to power through them, breaking each one down and, eventually, leaving herself open to his close range counter attack. But in actuality, it was Yang who had read _his_ move. Instead of barreling through the obstacles as he expected, she simply jumped on top of them, using each one as a step to get closer and closer to her target.

It was then Delsin realized his mistake. He couldn't get a shot on her from behind his own spikes, and at the moment he didn't have enough raw power to break them all down. He couldn't even use his Masonry power to put them back since he'd used up all of it creating them. And the worst part of it was, he was so taken aback from her choice of action, he had let Yang do the one thing that anyone who had ever fought her knew to never let her do: he let her get close.

Yang landed in front of him and wasted no time throwing a straight jab at Delsin's torso. Delsin spun out of the way, twirling to his right, then Smoke Dashing behind her. As soon as he re-materialized, Yang ducked under the attack she had already seen coming, in this case, a Phosphor Beam. The blonde whipped around and aimed an uppercut right to Delsin's jaw, but the Prime Conduit took a half step back and picked up a Light Dash around the perimeter small circle he had made.

In his head, Delsin knew his best option was to leave the spike ring and pick Yang off from a distance. But, he just couldn't. Perhaps it was the way she stood, calmly waiting for him to make his move, or perhaps it was simply a case of tunnel vision, his mind focusing too intently on the problem right in front of him.

He came to a complete stop just behind her and swapped his now drained Smoke power out for his slightly less drained Concrete. With a furious roar, he charged her, covering himself in Concrete along the way. Yang didn't turn, instead slamming her elbow into Delsin's chest, splintering his armor. Delsin rolled with the blow once again and got in right behind his opponent. He snaked his arms under hers and wrapped them around the back of her head, putting her in a very effective hold.

"You ready to give up, or do I need to finish you off?" he asked mockingly.

Yang smirked.

"Quick question D," she said.

"What?" he said, rolling his eyes at the nickname.

"What's this on your wrist?"

Delsin's eyes snapped open and locked onto the iron chain that was now disappearing from his right arm. Before he could even think, Delsin fired two point-blank Neon Beams from his hands, straight into Yang's head.

He was too late.

The bolts ricocheted off Yang's once again Iron encased body, the impact breaking Delsin's hold. As they slid apart, Yang pivoted to face her attacker once again. She raised a hand back behind her head.

"Eat _THIS!"_ Yang shouted, snapping her hand forward as a huge Iron Wave launched forward, nearly identically to one of Delsin's Cinder Blasts. Delsin, with no time to react, simply smiled as the attack ripped through his Aura, dragging it all the way down to 0.

As he fell over, the buzzer sounded, signaling his defeat.

 **O00000O00000O**

Yang walked over to her opponent, feeling supremely confident.

"Need a hand," she asked, holding one out to him.

Delsin smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

He took it, and she hauled him to his feet.

"So, did I earn my day off boss?" she asked smugly.

Delsin let out a half-hearted sigh.

"I guess," he said with mock reluctance.

Yang lightly punched him in the shoulder, smiling warmly.

"George? Can you come down here and fix this? I'm kinda tapped out," Delsin called.

"On it," the man replied, jumping from his seat to put the arena back together.

As he did, Delsin turned to the rest of the assembled spectators.

"Well, congratulations. In a Five on One match, you managed to just barely beat me," he said, earning a few pointed stares from his audience, as well as a few sarcastic eye-rolls, "And I'd say you earned your day off. Or maybe two."

A round of cheers went up from his students. Even Glynda was smiling, though it seemed half-hearted.

"Now, that said, you still have a ways to go, but we'll get to that in a couple of days. In the meantime, take a break and have some fun. Go wash up, recharge, and go home."

Smiles on their faces, the students all filed out. With one exception.

"Delsin?" a small voice asked.

Delsin turned around to see Rad standing behind him.

"Yeah, Rad? What's up?"

"Well... my apartment was kinda blown up in the Blast..." she explained, "I've been staying in a cheap motel for the last couple days, but-"

"Rad, why didn't you say something?" Delsin asked.

She shrugged.

"Didn't know how to bring it up. I know it's not fair to ask, but-"

"Rad, stop," Delsin said, "You need a place to stay? We have a bed open in the Team CNDT dorm. You are more than welcome to it. In fact, I would appreciate it. Alex and Eugene have been fighting over it for forever."

As he spoke, Delsin noticed a mix of emotions cross the girl's face. She opened her mouth to speak more than once, but no words came. Delsin didn't know the reason behind her hesitation but it was obvious his suggestion was causing her a bit of trouble.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm not saying you have to join the team, and if that's not something you're comfortable with, we can work something out. Just let me know, ok?" he added, his tone carrying a subtle gentleness.

The nervous tension in Rad's form slowly faded away.

"Thanks, Delsin. Sorry, it's just... I've gotten used to being on my own, and now, with these powers," she said, shaking her head, "Even after all that training- thanks for that, by the way- It's just so much to take in. But, if you'll have me, I think I'll take you up on that dorm room."

Delsin smiled.

"Well then. Let's get you set up," He said. He looked over her shoulder, seeing Velvet laugh at something Coco had said and spoke again. "Just... let me take care of something first, ok?"

With her peripheral vision, Rad followed Delsin's gaze. She smirked.

"Yeah, I'll leave you to it, big guy. Knock 'em dead," she said, patting him on the shoulder as she walked away.

Delsin swallowed and made his way towards his target. She was giggling, no doubt at one of Yang's terrible puns. When she saw him, her face brightened even further.

 _"She's so beautiful when she smiles,"_ he thought.

Yang followed her gaze and, only barely managing to hide her smirk, motioned for the rest of the gang to walk away. Neither Delsin nor Velvet noticed them leave as he finally approached her.

"Hey," he said.

She smiled at him.

"Hey."

 **O00000O00000O**

As the new Conduits made their way from the arena, each one tired and ready to take a nap, Yang stopped at the gate. She turned just in time to see Alex land behind her.

"Hey, birdbrain. How ya feeling?" she asked.

Alex smiled, not surprised she saw him coming.

"Well, it'll be a minute before I'm back to normal. And it'll be even longer before I can fly, but I am cleared to get out of bed, so that's cool," Alex told her.

"So you can finally get off your butt and back to work, huh?"

Alex chuckled.

"Darn right. There are only so many days of doing nothing while lying in a horribly uncomfortable bed that someone like me can take."

"Oh, getting tiredof sleeping all day?"

Alex smirked.

"Well, I guess when I woke up this morning, it was an _eye-opening_ experience."

Yang's eyes widened. No one had ever counter-attacked before. No one.

"Did you just-"

"Yes, I did. And it is only because of years of training that I managed not to cringe while doing it."

"Well, I appreciate it. Too bad though. That was really... _punny_."

Alex raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really?"

"Couldn't help myself," she said with a shrug.

"Uh-huh," Alex replied, his doubt apparent from his tone.

"Well then, what brought you here? Surely you didn't come just to help me win."

"True, that's not the only reason I came. And please," he started, looking her in the eyes, "don't call me Shirley."

Yang couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.

"Seriously?!" she wheezed, "Where did that one come from?"

"An old movie my dad made us watch. Had us in stitches for hours."

"You have _got_ to show me that movie. Like, as soon as physically possible."

"Really?" he said, just a hint of nervousness in his voice, "How about tonight?"

Yang froze. Did he-?

"Alex. Are you asking me out?"

Alex gulped but nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

Yang shook her head and smiled.

"Well. It's about time."

Alex couldn't help but smile.

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Again, I am so sorry about the wait. However, that said, my extremely long hiatus did give me time to go back and edit some of my earlier chapters. Those should be up in a few days, I hope, and I will find a way to let you guys know which ones have changed. It won't be too different, but it will add in a few scenes I forgot to put in that explain more of the story as it has happened in my head.**

 **See you again soon.**

 **I promise.**

 **Merry Christmas.**


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